First Sunday in Lent – Exhortation - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/h_NNvx8cK30

 

Today’s Collect recalls Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness and asks that God give us the strength to focus our being to allow us to follow His Will.  Paul writes to the people of Corinth asking them to come togetther to further God’s Plan and not theirs.  In the Gospel Matthew relates the story of Jesus’ temptation by the Devil.  There is more to it than you might think.  There is much more to this story than meets the eye.  Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how.

THE EXHORTATIONS.

¶         At the time of the Celebration of the Communion, after the prayer for the whole state of Christ’s Church, the Priest may say this Exhortation. And Note, That the Exhortation shall be said on the First Sunday in Advent, the First Sunday in Lent, and Trinity Sunday. 

 

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EARLY beloved in the Lord, ye who mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how Saint Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament; so is the danger great, if we receive the same unworthily. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; repent  you truly for your sins past; have a lively and stedfast faith  in Christ our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy mysteries. And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ, both God and man; who did humble himself, even to the death upon the Cross, for us, miserable sinners, who lay in darkness and the shadow of death; that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlasting life. And to the end that we should always remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious blood-shedding he hath obtained for us; he hath instituted and ordained holy mysteries, as pledges of his love, and for a continual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless com- fort. To him therefore, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, let us give, as we are most bounden, continual thanks; sub- mitting ourselves wholly to his holy will and pleasure, and studying to serve him in true holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Amen. 

The Propers for today are found on Page 125-127, with the Collect first:

 

The First Sunday in Lent.

The Collect.

 

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 LORD who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

 

And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:

 

The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.

The Collect.

 

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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.

 

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, the Sixth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse.  In what at first appears to be an incomprehensible single sentence, Paul asks us to be worthy of the grace that God has given us.  He tells the people when they needed him, he was there.  They need to be there for those around them.  They must not frustrate God’s work by showing up late, or not at all.  Those around us are watching our actions in the time of testing.  We have been given eternal salvation by Jesus’ sacrifice, the understanding of the Gospel by the Holy Ghost.  We are at this time dying here on earth, yet progressing towards eternal life in the next world, in Jesus’ world with His help. While we may never be wealthy here on earth, our actions can make our fellow Christians wealthy in spirit beyond measure.  

 

If you claim to be a Christian, you know what is right.  If you are a Christian, you do what is right, you don’t take a vote to see what the right course of action might be.  Right does not change with public opinion and we must do the right thing.  It is our actions that count, in good times or bad.  We are Christ’s ambassadors to this world, unfortunately we do not have diplomatic immunity.

 

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E then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain; (for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation;) giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

 

This morning’s Holy Gospel came from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Fourth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse. This portion of the Gospel tells the story of the temptation of Christ. In many respects, it shows how little the devil understands of Christ, and through Him, of us. If you understand how little the devil really offers you and how much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less.  The devil is often referred to as the deceiver or dissimulator.  His forte is deception, he seems one thing, is another.  Offers what he has no intention or ability to deliver.  Ignores the inevitable result of accepting his proffered help or inside track.

 

He clearly knows Jesus is the Son of God.  There is no doubt in his mind.  So, having understood that, consider what he offers Jesus in temptation.  

 

Remember, Jesus has fasted 40 days OF HIS OWN CHOICE; he who has no real power asks Jesus to turn stone into bread to show His Power.  This to the Son of He who delivered manna daily to the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.  

 

Cast thyself down and let angels catch thee; this to He who walked on water.

 

Up to the mountain lookout – Here is it all yours if you worship me.  This to He who as it says in Psalm 95:

 

In his hand are all the corners of the earth; * and the strength of the hills is his also.

 

The sea is his, and he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land.

 

O come, let us worship and fall down, * and kneel before

the Lord our Maker.

 

For he is the Lord our God; * and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

 

The devil promised Jesus nothing that was his to give, nothing that would help Jesus in the real world beyond the Shadowlands.  He never does.  The devil is all about shortcuts.  Remember, if the shortcut was the best way, it would not be a shortcut

 

Like the temptation of Jesus, the devil never delivers what we need, only what we may want short term.  Remember as little as the devil understands of Christ, so he understands little of us.  He will never offer you real help.  Remember that and the temptation is ever so much less.

 

This morning’s Gospel comes from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, starting at the First Verse of the Fourth Chapter. This portion of the Gospel tells the story of the temptation of Christ.  In many respects, it shows how little the devil understands of Christ, and through Him, of us.  If you understand how little the devil really offers you and how much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less.

 

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HEN was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

 

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

 

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

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness, and true holiness, to thy honour and glory …

 

In the Collect, we ask God to help us change our natural evil tendencies so we can live life here His way and honor His wishes so we can be truly happy.  This is the basic message behind most of the collects because it is truth. Without His help, we end up with what we want, not what we need. And what we want is not always good for us, but what we need is always good for us. We are asking for God’s help to differentiate between our wants and needs.  Lent is the time in which we focus on fighting our sinful selves and working with the Holy Ghost to reconcile us with what God wants for us. What we want is not the same as what we need. Lent is the time in which we focus on separating our wants from needs and concentrating on what our needs truly are. We are asking him to help us fight our human nature and follow His divine nature, we are attempting to replace our nature with that of God’s. It is a long and difficult road we must travel, doing this, but we are going to be much happier in the long run if we at least do our best. Do or do not, there is no try, Yoda is quoted as saying, and I find it applicable here and in my own life. We have to act, not just say we are going to act, but we must physically perform ACTIONS!

                                 

Want and Need; two words, used interchangeably in both our speech and thought that do not mean the same thing.  Think about that!

 

Following the thought of the Collect, Paul asks us to be worthy of the grace God has given us.  He tells the people when they needed him, He was there.  Following his example, we need to be there for those around us.  We must not frustrate God’s work by showing up late, or not at all. It all goes back to Jesus’ saying, No man can serve two masters. We have to choose who we are going to serve God or Satan/Mammon and then once we have chosen to serve God, we need to do our best to be there for Him and His People. Action and not just dictions alone are needed to serve God. 

 

Our actions will reflect whom we truly serve,  God or the Forces of Satan. Which side will you serve? You in the end have to choose one side or another. Pick the winning side now, which is the Forces of God, and you will have a rich everlasting life. Where our treasure is, our heart will be there also to quote Jesus. So let us make sure our treasure is heaven and not on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal. If our treasure is in heaven, there it is incorruptible and thieves do not steak. The key to winning this battle for souls is to never ever ever give up and to trust in God and Dread Naught.  It may get gloomy and depressing sometimes but as long as we turn back to God and His Scriptures and the Church for comfort than all will be well with our souls. And also remembering when we are finished running the race here on Earth so to speak, we will get to spend eternity with God, Jesus and our family who have gone before, it makes bearing the trials and the tribulations of this world a lot easier.

 

When the Devil attempted to tempt Christ, he showed how little he knows of Him.  If we emulate our Lord, it shows how little the Devil will be able to tempt us with his deceit. Jesus provides us with the perfect template to resist Satan and his wiles. Do not even entertain them for a fraction of a second, and just tell Satan to Get Thee Hence!  If we follow Him we will be able to withstand any temptation that arises as our Lord showed for us in the desert 2,000 years ago. 

 

Consider how little the Devil really offers you and how much Christ offers, the temptation is ever so much less.  The Devil is often referred to as the Deceiver or Dissimulator.  His forte is deception; he seems to be one thing, but is another.  He offers what he has no intention or ability to deliver. He actually has zero ability to deliver on his large promises, he has no right to give away what is not his! 

 

The Devil clearly knows Jesus is the Son of God.  There is no doubt in his mind.  So, having understood that, consider what he offers Jesus in temptation.  

 

Remember, Jesus has fasted 40 days OF HIS OWN CHOICE; now comes the devil daring Him to show His Power by turning the stone into bread.  This to the Son of He who delivered manna daily to the Jews in the wilderness for 40 years.  

 

Cast thyself down and let angels catch thee; this to He who walked on water.

 

Up to the mountain lookout – Here is it all yours if you worship me.  This to He, who as it says in Psalm 95:

 

I

N his hand are all the corners of the earth; * and the strength of the hills is his also.

 

The sea is his, and he made it; * and his hands prepared the dry land.

 

O come, let us worship and fall down, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

 

For he is the Lord our God; * and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

 

The devil promised Jesus nothing that was his to give, nothing that would help Jesus in the real world beyond the Shadowlands.  He never does.  The devil is all about shortcuts.  Remember, if the shortcut was the best way, it would not be a shortcut. The devil will not help us at all in the long run, if you look at things from the eternal perspective. That is what we need to keep in mind every time he tempts us.  We have to remember that what the devil offers us will pale in comparison to what God has to offer us and that the way of the devil will cause us more pain here on Earth and a lot more pain after we leave Earth. If we keep that in mind, it makes it ever so much easier to fight off the Devil and his temptaitons.

 

The temptation of Jesus is no different than the Devil’s attempt to tempt us!  The Devil never delivers what we need, only what we, in our imperfection, want. This is wher knowing the difference between what is a want and a need for us will assist. If we recognize that his temptations are preying on our desire for our wants, we can shut down the temptation by focusing on what we need. He can’t understand what we really need, he only knows what we want. This is an advantage we have over him. We understand what we truly need; if we remember it, then holding off against the temptations is easier. Remember as little as the Devil understands of Christ, the same way, as we are in God, so he understands little of us.  He will never offer you real help.  Remember that and the temptation is ever so much less.

 

Or, as my grandfather said, “Keep your eye on the donut, not on the hole”

 

There is but one way to heaven.

 

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost, use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

 

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

Quinquagesima - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

 

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/YuCQ2n5Jmgc

Today’s Collect today’s college recognizes that nothing we do without charity in our hearts is of any real value. It goes on the ask that God have the Holy Ghost pour in our hearts that gift of charity. In his Epistle to th people of Cornith, Paul remins us without charity we are nothing. We can do no good without charity.  In his Gospel, Luke relates Jesus coming up into Jerusalem and telling his disciples what would occur and them having no idea of what He spoke. It also relates a story of a blind man who Jesus healed. There is much more to this story than meets the eye.  Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

The Propers for today are found on Page 122-124, with the Collect first:

 

The Sunday called Quinquagesima, or the

Sunday next before before Lent.

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

 

The Epistle for today came from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the Thirteenth Chapter, beginning at the First Verse.  Paul talks of charity[1], “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”  Paul goes on to say that no matter what you do, if in your heart you have not that love for others, it is all to naught.  Our understanding here on earth is limited, we will never here see the fullness of God’s plan, yet the part most clear is the love we must have one for another, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, for no reason other than we know that is right so to do.  Paul uses the phraseology “through a glass, darkly”, which is very interesting inasmuch as CS Lewis uses a variation to describe earth as compared to heaven.  He calls the earth The Shadowlands and says in heaven all is clear and bright, not dark and muddled as here on earth.

 

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HOUGH I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

 

The Holy Gospel for today came from the Gospel of Saint Luke, the Eighteenth Chapter beginning at the Thirty-First Verse.  The Gospel starts out telling of Jesus’ trying to prepare his disciples for what was to come, and they could not grasp it: “Then Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”  The Gospel goes on to tell of Jesus’ healing of a blind man near Jericho, “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way-side begging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.”

 

If you take nothing else from today’s Gospel, take this – Faith will save you.  After you are saved, you need to act on your faith.  The order is clear.

 

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HEN Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside begging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

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[1] Charity - Love; universal benevolence; good will; the word which properly denotes love.  Properly understood the Love of God, that perfect love, to which man should aspire. [1913 Webster]

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion

Descanso, California

You can view Rev Jack's sermon on video RIGHT HERE!

 

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

 

Consider these words from the Collect:

 

… that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity …

 

In the Collect, we acknowledge to God that if we have not charity, nothing we do is worth anything; we then ask Him to send the Holy Ghost into our hearts with the precious gift of charity.  Webster tells us that Charity is love; universal benevolence; good will; the word which properly denotes love. What it really means is Love in Action! Like many areas of our Christian development, we will never fully get there. But if we never try to put Love into action, we will never even get close to getting there. The key words are in action. Meaning we just can’t think about loving people, we actually have to go out and do actions showing that we really do love them, not just say it. Without the love in our hearts, nothing we do here has any meaning, our actions would be meaningless without love in our hearts for God and our fellow human beings anc creature. We must strive to incorporate love for God and others in our actions. We must allow the Holy Ghost into our hearts to allow us to have that love.

 

Charity is the purest form of love there is and derives from God’s love for us. Without God’s love in us, we cannot hope to have any form of charity towards our fellow humans. God has given us love to enable us to act on His behalf here on this Earth. Love is not selfish or wasteful, but kind and abundant. We are to be agents of good change, not bad; with Charity, we will act with love towards one another.  With charity in our hearts we will be agents for change of good. These are qualities that are not naturally part of our sinful nature. We cannot be agents for change of good without Charity in our hearts. This is why we need to have God’s help, to have that pure and unselfish love in our hearts. If we do not have love in our hearts towards one another, how can we expect to be able to effect positive change on the world around us?

 

In connection with the Collect which talks about one who is brought before God without love in his heart is a dead person. And not just in eternity but in life, a person with no love is a dead person walking.  Paul makes this very point in his Epistle, saying that no matter what talents we have, without the Love of God in our hearts, it is all for naught.  We cannot do anything for God without that Love in our hearts. We must have the Love in us, brought to us by the Holy Spirit, in order to be effective in our ministerial efforts. He is the reason we are here in this life and He is the one we must act for.   It must be clear to us our understanding here on earth is limited, while here we will never see the fullness of God’s Plan; yet the part most clear is the love we are to have one for another, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, for no reason other than we know it is right so to do. 

 

Having Love in our hearts is a must if we are to perform actions for Him here in this world. In order to have love in our hearts, we must be open to the Holy Spirit. Only then can we truly receive His Love to spread around. And do not fret, there is an unlimited supply of love for everyone. When Paul talks about God’s great plans, he uses the phraseology “through a glass, darkly”, which is very interesting inasmuch as CS Lewis uses a variation to describe earth as compared to heaven.  He calls earth The Shadowlands and says in heaven all is clear and bright, not dark and muddled as here on earth.  So, here our understanding is limited, it will not always be so. That will be fulfilled when we pass those Pearly Gates into heaven, and in order to do that, we have to have faith, and act in good works with charity. 

 

As they were coming in to Jericho, Jesus told the disciples of what was to come, yet they could not grasp their leader would submit to such treatment on their behalf. One of the reasons they could not grasp it is that they did not yet have the Holy Spirit in their heart to help grasp the words that Jesus spoke. In their minds He was the Conqueror; in a sense they were right, He came to conquer death for us, not the Roman Empire. He had the Love of God with Him and He loved us so much that He would die a painful method of execution and go into Satan’s realm in order to free us from the terrible wages of sin, that of death. As they went along, they encountered the blind man who was, like many of us are, blind.  His blindness was of eye, not heart, he knew the power of God and of love. The blind man who wanted his sight and knew Jesus had The Power.  He cried unto the Lord and was rebuffed by His People. This is the key and it applies to us as well. Did he give up?  No, he cried the more.  We are like the blind man in that our sin blinds from seeing what we could be with the help of the Holy Ghost. We must cry out for Jesus to enter into our hearts, souls and minds and lead a transformation of our minds to serve Him.

 

When Jesus heard him, he turned and asked what the man wanted.  MY SIGHT!  No generalizations, no beating about.  The blind man asked of Him what he truly wanted.  Ask and it shall be given unto you.  He lacked sight, not vision.  Nor, it might be added, did he lack faith. We should ask God to have to sight and hearing that we might see, hear and act upon the Word. To some, the faith he had might seem a blind faith, but it was one he acted on and gained what he lacked.  Will we have the faith to act?

 

True love is Faith, Hope, Charity[1].

 

There is but one way to heaven.

 

That easy to find, easy to follow, easy to hike path does not lead to the summit where eternal life in the real world awaits.  Open your heart to the Holy Ghost, use His Power to follow our Lord to God who awaits in heaven.

 

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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[1] The three Gloster Gladiator fighters Faith, Hope and Charity defended Malta against the Italian Air Force during the early part of the siege of Malta in World War II.  Legend has it all three persisted and of the three, Charity never failed.

Sexagesima - Propers with explanation – Rev Jack’s Sermon – With Video

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His sermon is below the propers and can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/PbWv0vB11-s

 

Today’s Collect asks God to see we put our trust in Him and not our own actions, which of course is our goal and seldom done in reality.  Saint Paul reminds the people of Cornith and us no mater what we may face, as long as we put our trust in the Lord, it will turn out all right in the end.  He enumerates his trials and tells us no matter, his only glory is in the Lord.  The Gospel is Luke’s account of the parable of the sower, more correctly thought of as the parable of the four soils.  Great stuff and it all comes together, listen or read to understand how. 

What is Sexagesima?

Sexagesima, or, in full, Sexagesima Sunday, is the name for the Second Sunday before Ash Wednesday in the Catholic (Universal or Whole) Church Calendar. 

 

The name "Sexagesima" is derived from the Latin sexagesimus, meaning "sixtieth," and appears to be a back-formation of Quinquagesima, the term formerly used to denote the last Sunday before Lent (the latter name alluding to the fact that there are fifty days between that Sunday and Easter, if one counts both days themselves in the total). Through the same process, the Sunday before Sexagesima Sunday is known as Septuagesima Sunday, and marks the start of the Pre-Lenten Season, which eventually became the time for carnival celebrations throughout Europe, this custom being later exported to places settled and/or colonized by Europeans. While Quinquagesima (50th day) is mathematically correct (allowing for the inclusive counting), Sexagesima and Septuagesima are only approximations (the exact number of days is 57 and 64 respectively). The earliest Sexagesima can occur is January 25 and the latest is February 28 (or February 29 in a leap year). 

 

The 17-day period beginning on Septuagesima Sunday spanning Sexuagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays was intended to be observed as a preparation for the season of Lent, which is itself a period of spiritual preparation (for Easter). In many countries, however, Septuagesima Sunday marks the start of the carnival season, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, more commonly known as Mardi Gras.

 

The Gospel reading for Sexagesima week is the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4).

Propers

The Propers for today are found on Page 120-122, with the Collect first:

 

The Sunday called Sexagesima, or the

second Sunday before Lent.

The Collect.

 

O

 LORD God, who seest that we put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

The Epistle came from the Eleventh Chapter of Saint Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians beginning at the Nineteenth Verse. Paul reminds us salvation, honor and glory come not from what we do or have done, but rather from God.  Paul, who as Saul, had been a super star on his way to being the number one rabbi in the Hebrew nation, he was more learned, more vigorous in following the law, more vocal in all things.  When he “saw the light” and converted, he took that same approach to Christianity.  No one was more in any thing than he.  He had been the best of the worst and the best of the best.  Now he was aware of how short he himself fell.  More importantly, he was keenly aware of the saving perfection of Christ.

 

No one did more than Paul, yet he counseled all to take comfort and pride in God, not themselves.  Do your best and look towards God.

 

Y

E suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.

 

The Holy Gospel for today came from the Eighth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke beginning at the Fourth Verse and tells the well known Parable of the Sower, which might be better referred to as the Parable of the Four Soils, for the seeds were all alike.

 

A sower scatters seed on to four different types of soil. 

 

·      Hard ground

·      Stony ground

·      Thorny ground

·      Good ground

 

Hard ground “by the way side” prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. Stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. Thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but competing thorns choke the life out of the good plants.  Good ground receives the seed and produces much fruit.

 

Jesus explains the seed is The Word.  

 

Hard ground represents someone so hardened by sin that though he hears he cannot understand the Word.  Thus, Satan can pluck the message away, keeping the heart dull and preventing the Word from making an impression.

 

Stony ground represents those who hear and express delight in The Word, but do not change to live The Word.  When trouble arises, they abandon their faith.

 

Thorny ground represents one who hears and receives The Word, but who does not connect to it and whose heart is full of riches, pleasures, and lusts.  The effort that should by rights given The Word are given to the things of this world and he has no time for The Word.

 

Good ground represents he who hears, understands, and implements The Word.  Thus, The Word can work its wonders in his life and that person gains salvation.

 

The Word is there.  We may hear it.  We may take it in our heart.  The benefit comes only when we take it in our heart and act on it.  At that point, The Word is acting in our lives and salvation is in hand.

 

W

HEN much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way-side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. 

Sermon – Reverend Jack Arnold - Time and Action

Church of the Faithful Centurion, Descanso, California

Rev Jack brings the Propers together today.    His can be viewed on video here -> https://youtu.be/PbWv0vB11-s

 

Today’s sermon ties together the propers, that is to say the prayer and readings for this week. Consider these words from the Collect:

 

…put not our trust in any thing that we do; Mercifully grant that by thy power we may be defended against all adversity …

 

In the Collect, we tell God we put our trust for eternal life not in our actions, but in His Power.  We do this because we know that by our own selves we cannot obtain eternal life. There is only one person who can help us achieve that and that is God. Thus that requires that we put our trust in His Power and not our selves. If we do this, then we must do as He asks us.  For, to make trust in His Power rational, we must follow His Directions. We cannot trust our own sense of direction for spiritual matters; but must look to Our Heavenly Father for guidance. If we do not follow His Direction then we are surely going be just as lost as before we accepted Him into our hearts. The whole point of this collect is that we cannot rely on ourselves to get through the trials and tribulations of this life but that we need to rely on God and the Holy Spirit. With their help what seems impossible for us can and will become very possible, if we will let him into our hearts.

 

The Collect also goes on to explain this. It tells us that His Power is the only real power which can help us in times of trial and tribulation. His Power will protect our souls. We cannot protect our souls on our own, left to our own devices, we will surely fail. However with God’s help, we will not fail but we will succeed. Our bodies may get beaten and bruised but if we trust in Him and let Him into our hearts, our souls will be intact. The key is that we to rely on His counsel and judgement. It is the only power which will give us comfort in times of adversity and strength to get through those times. 

 

Recognizing that God has the power to help us overcome adversity is key. If we can recognize that then we are doing well. Of our own volition we can sometimes overcome physical adversity, but never spiritual. However with God’s help we can overcome both the physical and spiritual adversity.  He will never fail to help us, we just have to listen to what He says and then act upon His Counsel.

 

Paul tells the Corinthians whatever they have suffered there compares nothing to what he has suffered for Christ in all of his labourings, watchings and fastings. Yet this is not his main point, which is in all of these sufferings he always drew on the power of the Holy Spirit and used the sufferings for God’s glory and not for his. He is not bragging when he tells them of what he suffered, however, he is meaning to say he got through these hard times with God’s help and also to bring glory and point the way to God and His Son Jesus Christ.  His point is if God helped him get through all of this turbulent and troubled experience, God can and will help us through these times too if we will but let Him. He told them of all of his sufferings so that they will understand that if they ever have to undergo such horrible events, God will be there for them and assist them in their trials and tribulations.

 

The main point is that He cannot help us if we do not let Him, so let us make sure we are opening our hearts to His Guidance. We have to willingly allow Him in. He will not force His way into our hearts, we have to willingly open them for Him to enter. We will be a much happier people if we do this.

 

From his beginnings as the chief persecutor of Christ’s followers to now as one of the top apostles of Christ, Paul tells us of the experience of the power of God first hand, using his life as an example. Paul wanted to show us how God’s Grace and mercy changed His life and got Him through some pretty bad times. He was not using his life to brag about, but to point out that if you trust in God and follow His Instructions, you too can get through the most awful of times as well.  Thus, he counseled all to take comfort and pride in God, not themselves.  Do your best and look towards God.

 

This brings us right in to the well known Parable of the Sower, which might be better referred to as the Parable of the Four Soils, for the seeds were all alike.  

 

Like the seed sown by the sower, The Word is spread throughout the world for all to hear and act on:

 

• Yet, some will not even hear The Word (Hard ground);

 

• Others will hear, act quickly and abandon God’s help at the first sign of adversity (Stony ground);

 

• Still others will hear The Word, but The Word is overtaken by the “pleasures” of this world and is choked out by them.  Like the line from the Bible, where your money is, that is your worldly effort, there is the evidence of your heart.  The temptation of this world is great, the reward from God is far greater, but you have to look long term;

 

• Finally, we come to those who accept and act on The Word, like the one seed growing into a great plant bearing its fruit, the rewards are manifold, though the effort is also great, the end reward far greater. For the seed to grow to full fruition and glory, with its manifold blessings, it must have the ground prepared, carefully tended against encroachment of the evil weeds, it must be continually watered by the life blood of those around it.  There is much effort required on our part, but the ultimate reward is so much greater.

 

While we are on the subject, consider the issue of weeding. In order for a garden to thrive, you need to consistently pull the weeds from the garden, otherwise the weeds will choke and kill the good plants. That is why we must always be wary of the world’s influence on the church and work to weed out that influence, so it does not choke the Biblical truths believed for over two millennia by Christians.  In order to do this, we need to work hand in hand with our fellow believers to weed out any worldly influence or trouble within the church. This is why it is best that believers attend a Bible believing Church, where they can get valuable friendship and from that friendship, spiritual mentoring for their day to day lives. This is where the modern church has largely failed, not rooting out the weeds within the church but rather allowed them to prosper so that they choke the teachings of Scripture and give way to wordly teachigs. We must not allow this to happen. 

 

So, think about this, we need to understand eternal life and indeed on a shorter term, happiness in our life here, comes not from our self-directed actions, but those of God and our action following His direction. We need to understand the implications of following our self-directed action, which if we follow, we will find death and misery awaiting us. However, if we put our trust in Him and follow His commands, all will be well with us and our souls. Understanding the difference between the two will help you prepare yourself for a happier physical and spiritual life. Do your best and look towards God for the Light to illuminate your path.  If you prepare your heart, as the farmer prepares the field, root out the forces of this world as the farmer roots out weeds, cultivate the good given by God, water your heart with His Water, your life will be manifold.

 

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