Pentecost 9 – 2 August 20 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our father and our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 14^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: 13–21:

 

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵ When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 

The disciples needed a break.  The verses that precede today’s Gospel tell us about the death of John the Baptist.  The preceding verses also tell us that Jesus and His disciples had been totally engaged with the masses for quite some time.  They were all tired.  It made sense to get away in the wilderness on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  They needed to grieve for John, and they needed to take a breather from their heavy work load.  We would probably relate to it as a retreat; a time of prayer and quiet meditation.

The crowds had other ideas.  As they watched Jesus and His disciples pull away from the shore it didn’t take them long to figure out their destination.  They did a quick march around the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus arrived at the other shore, the crowds were already starting to arrive.  They wanted more teaching from Jesus.  Matthew described the situation as Jesus stepped out of the boat in this way: ^{(Matthew 14:14)} “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick”. As Jesus came ashore, we see the kingdom of Heaven at work as God reigns through Jesus to heal the sick … to reverse the corruption that sin brought into this world.

As Jesus filled the spiritual emptiness of the crowd, the day wore on.  Soon, the disciples began to think about the physical emptiness of the crowd.  They came to Jesus and said, ^{(Matthew 14:15)} “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” This request indicates that the disciples didn’t expect Jesus Himself to do anything for the crowds.

Of course, Jesus knew there was no need to send the people away and He said: ^{(Matthew 14:16)} “They need not go away;” … “ you give them something to eat.”  What did Jesus mean when He said, “… you give them something to eat?”  The disciples panicked!  They said to him, ^{(Matthew 14:17)} “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” They did not yet understand that when Jesus asks for the impossible, He has a plan to show that, ^{(Luke 1:37) “}nothing will be impossible with God”.

Jesus instructed the people to arrange themselves in an orderly fashion.  The text tells us there were 5,000 men plus women and children.  The people would naturally arrange themselves in families.  Then, as though they were all part of His family, God the Son gave thanks to God the Father.  He then gave baskets of food to His disciples.  His disciples gave the food to the fathers.  The fathers gave the food to their families.  All ate and all were satisfied.  Jesus had instructed His disciples to feed the people and then He miraculously provided the food so that the people could eat their fill.

The events in today’s Gospel give us another example of Jesus caring for His people, but they are more than that.  As we study the events of this miracle, we also see the model of how God serves His people.  This model of God’s service to us is everywhere in our lives.  It is so pervasive that we don’t even notice unless someone calls our attention to it.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus worked through His disciples to fill thousands of empty stomachs.  Today, He feeds us through farmers, wholesalers, Grocers, and the people who transport our food from place to place.  Jesus healed the people in the crowd.  Today, Jesus gives the gift of healing to people who go to school and become doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and so forth.  When we look for God at work in our lives, we find people in their vocations serving us as they bring God’s gifts into our lives.

You see, vocations are “masks of God.”  On the surface, we see an ordinary human face … our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our priest … but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them.  God is hidden in human vocations.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Stop and consider, “What is meant by daily bread?”  In truth it is much more than a crusty loaf. We pray for everything that belongs to the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, field, cattle, money, goods, a faithful spouse, faithful children, faithful employees, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honour, good friends, faithful neighbours, and the like. Jesus regularly works through people to bring us the things we need.  All the people who bring God’s daily bread to us are God’s answer to this petition.

Just as Jesus delivers daily bread through people, He also delivers His salvation through people.

Jesus earned our salvation by bearing the punishment of our sin when He hung on the cross.  As He hung on the cross, He took away our sin and gave us His righteousness.  He has promised to give us eternal life with Him and His resurrection from the dead is the sign that He keeps all His promises.  The only problem is that He hung on that cross and rose from the dead outside of Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago.  How does He get His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life from first century Jerusalem to twenty-first century Sarina?

As with the distribution at the miraculous feeding, Jesus in turn, gave His eternal gifts to His servants, the Apostles.  The Apostles gave the gifts to us in their writings … the book that we know as the Bible.  The church has passed this down from generation to generation.  People have died so that we can have the writings of the prophets and apostles and it is through those writings that Jesus Christ passes His gifts on to us … the gifts that He earned for us on the cross … the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

It’s interesting that this Bible text is often referred to as the “Miraculous feeding of the 5,000” – well actually there was at least 20,000 as there was only 5,000 men and their wives and families. But, do we notice that this feeding came only after a full day of miraculous healing by Jesus. ^{(Matthew 14: 14) “}When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick”. It’s true that the feeding was a miracle, but sometimes we seem to overlook the very nature of Jesus, in that He is a merciful God who daily reaches out to heal us, not just of our infirmities, but also from the ravages of our sinful nature. 

    

People tell me of how great  it would be to be there with the Apostles to see Jesus performing miraculous healing. But the fact is, there is no ‘past tense’ in the healing and grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus commanded the Apostles “you give them something to eat”, in the same way, Jesus commanded His church of earth ^{(Matthew 28:19-20)}“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you”.

 

There can be no doubt that we who are gathered here in St Luke’s Sarina today are, by the grace of God, to be blessed as we witness the miracle of Holy Baptism. On this day, Charli Carol Matsen will be presented by her parents, Julie-Anne and Grant, and her sponsors Tina and Ryan in response to Jesus’ command; to be baptised into Jesus’ Holy Christian Church on earth and into the family of believers into eternity. This is indeed a miracle of healing, because as hard it is to believe, when we look at the beautiful little child, we see one who was born with the sinful nature inherited from Adam and Eve, our first parents who disobeyed God way back in the Garden of Eden.

 

When Charli is baptised, as our Lord and Saviour commanded, through the water and the Word of God, Jesus will make a covenant with her to take her into His loving embrace as her personal Lord and Saviour and He will fill her with His Holy Spirit to guide her in all wisdom and understanding into eternity. This is the great miracle, nothing in this process depends on the will or wishes of Charli or her parents or sponsors, it is a process where Jesus comes to her and welcomes her into fellowship with Him. All that Jesus has earned, forgiveness of sins through His death and eternal life through His resurrection, is His perfect gift of grace to Charli. From this day on, Charli will have God with her and God living in her. The miracle of life with the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

So it is that the miracle of feeding when there is no food, the miracle of healing when hope is fading, the miracle of Holy Baptism when we are lost in sin, the miracle of the body and blood of our Lord coming to us in the bread and wine are the ‘means of grace’ freely offered to us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And so it is, just like the disciples, these are the very things that continually challenge our worldly human intellect on a daily basis; in such time we are reminded in ^{(Ephesians 2:8)  “}For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”.

 

The next time you are stuck in traffic behind a slow-moving piece of farm equipment, remember that is God at work making sure that you are getting the food you need to sustain your life. When you are in a hospital, a school, or see Police officers, or a factory worker or the like, you a witnessing God at work in their individual vocations. If you are experiencing hard times or just a bad day, take out your baptism certificate and meditate on the miraculous day when Jesus came to you in the water and the Word and gave you the assurance ^{(John 15:9–11)} “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”.  God has a habit of working through the ordinary in order to give us His extraordinary gifts.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

 

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^[i] Veith, Gene Edward: 

[ii] Martin Luther’s Small Catechism – The Lord’s Prayer

Pentecost 8 – 26 July 20 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 13^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Paul: Verses 44: – 58:

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; ⁴⁶ on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. ⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹ “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” ⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

⁵⁴ He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honour except in their own country and in their own house.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

This morning, we heard Jesus tell four more parables.  The challenge of these parables is that a couple of these parables do not have an obvious explanation.  In fact, when Jesus finished the first three, He asked, ^{(Matthew 13:51)} “Have you understood all these things?” and They said to him, “Yes.” So it is entirely possible that Jesus never gave an interpretation of these parables.  Now that would be all well and good if the meaning was as obvious to us as it was to the disciples.  The problem is that the meanings of the first two parables that we heard today are not nearly as clear as we would like them to be.

The two parables are both very short, and the themes are similar: a man discovers something of great value and then sacrifices everything that he has in order to obtain the item of great value.  In the first parable, the item of great value is a treasure.  In the second, it is a precious pearl.  Despite the simplicity of the two parables, faithful theologians have come up with two possible interpretations.

One interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the item of great value … the treasure … or the pearl.  In this case, the parable teaches that we should be like the man or the merchant and give up everything to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven.

The other interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the main actor in the parable … the man or the merchant.  In this case, both the treasure and the pearl represent the Holy Christian Church.  The idea is that the Kingdom of Heaven suffered all in the person of Jesus Christ in order to redeem us … His treasure, His pearl of great price.

The fact that good, solid, faithful theologians can in all honesty come up with two valid, reasonable interpretations of these parables does illustrate one point.  Unless the Bible itself gives the explanation to a parable, we should not base any teachings on parables.  We can use parables to illustrate teachings that are clearly expressed in other parts of the Bible, but we should not rely on parables alone as a source for doctrine.

But what should we do with the parables that we heard from Jesus this morning?  Although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, my aim is to give you something to think about when you hear these parables.

Jesus began the first of these parables and said, _{(Matthew 13:44)} “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.” This sounds like the Kingdom of Heaven is the treasure hidden in the field.  In that case, Jesus is indeed illustrating that the Kingdom of Heaven is precious.  In fact, it is so precious that Jesus went on to say, ^{(Matthew 13:44)} “Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” This implies that there is no price that is too much to pay for the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now this would be great if it weren’t for one important detail.  As the Apostle Paul wrote, ^{(Ephesians 2:1–3)}  “You were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Paul is saying here that because our sin has corrupted our human nature, we do not recognise the value of the Kingdom of Heaven.  This being the case, we are certainly not inclined to surrender everything in order to obtain it.  And even if we wanted to obtain it, we are not able to pay the price required by so great a treasure.  So, we are beyond hope.

But now we hear the second parable from the mouth of Jesus.  This time, Jesus began and said, ^{(Matthew 13:45)}“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is the merchant who searches for fine pearls.  With this parable, Jesus portrays the Kingdom of Heaven as the one who does the searching.  The Kingdom of Heaven is the Reign of God who searches for excellent pearls.  But what are these excellent pearls for whom the Kingdom of Heaven searches?  At another time, Jesus Himself said, ^{(Luke 19:10)} “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” In other words, we are the excellent pearl.  In this second parable, Jesus is the merchant who sold all that he had … even his body to death on a cross … in order to obtain us … His precious Pearl.

So, although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, I want you to consider the words of Jesus that we heard this morning.  ^{(Matthew 13:44)} “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.”  In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is a precious treasure … beyond anything that we could pay.  But then again, in the second parable, Jesus said, ^{(Matthew 13:45)} “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” In the second parable, the Kingdom of Heaven searches for us.  We are the precious pearl for which Jesus Christ gave His all.

So, what difference does it make that we are the precious pearl of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Well, that becomes apparent in the next parable.

The Parable of the Net makes it very clear what will happen to all people on Judgment Day.  Jesus compared the people of this world to the contents of a net full of fish.  Just as a net gathers up all things from the water so Judgment Day will see a gathering of all human souls.  Just as fishermen sort the contents of the net into trash and good fish, so God will send His angels to separate the evil from the righteous.  The righteous are those who have the righteousness of Christ through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith.  They are God’s valuable treasure – His precious pearl.  The evil are those who refuse the Holy Spirit’s gift and rely on their own righteousness for salvation.  They are still valuable and precious in God’s sight, but because they have rejected God, their deathly choice means they become trash in God’s eyes.

The Bible tells us that we are sinful creatures.  The psalmist says, ^{(Psalm 51:5)} “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”. From this we learn that we are sinners the instant we come into existence at conception.  The prophet Isaiah says, ^{(Isaiah 64:6)} “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away”. From this verse we learn that nothing we do in our lives can change our sinful status.  The Apostle Paul tells us, ^{(Romans 3:23)} “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. From this we learn that no one can escape from this sinful condition.

From today’s parables, we learn that God still considers us precious in spite of our sinful condition.  We learn that God will spare nothing to ransom us from this sinful condition.  Instead, He will liquidate all His holdings in order to purchase and redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Peter to write, ^{(1 Peter 1:18–19)} “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot”. And from this we learn that the holdings Christ liquidated were paid in the currency of His holy innocent blood … a shedding of blood into death.

We know that Christ’s payment was sufficient.  He did not remain in the grave, but rose on the third day.  His resurrection assures us who believe that we are indeed God’s treasure … His precious pearl.  His resurrection assures us that we will also rise from the dead.  It assures us that we as God’s precious people will enjoy heaven with Him forever.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 7 – 19 July 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 13^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses:24–30, 36–43

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said,  ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

If you regularly read spy thrillers or watch them on the screen, you are probably familiar with the term ‘mole.’  A mole is someone who appears to be one of the good guys, but is actually working for the enemy.  A mole will infiltrate to the highest security levels and then feed sensitive information to the enemy while promoting false information to the good guys.  The results are usually deadly until the good guys expose the mole.

In today’s parable, Jesus tells us about spiritual moles in the world.  He is teaching about people who look like loyal friends but are actually moles.  Jesus used a parable to help us understand this situation.  In the parable, Jesus described a tactic that a person would use against only his absolute worst enemy – the over-sowing of a field with weed seeds.

Something that may not occur to us right away is that this is a well planned premeditated crime.  The weed used in this reading is Darnell and this weed looks almost the same as wheat but it is a weed and as such the Darnell grain is useless. It takes a well trained eye to identify the Darnell until it blooms. As in all such cases one has to ask why would someone go to the effort of growing, and harvesting Darnell seed and then storing it in a barn until planting time for any other reason than to cause financial and personal damage to another farmer?  Even after sowing the weed then the crop field damage will not really be realised until the next harvest.  This is definitely a long term, premeditated attack.  It indicates an evil, bitter, very long term or even permanent animosity.  This is a hateful, despicable, and cowardly tactic.  This is an excellent word picture of the animosity that the devil bears toward God and God’s people.

The references in the parable are fairly straight forward.  Jesus explained, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom.  The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.  The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels.”  Remember that when Matthew uses the word kingdom he means the reign of God in Jesus Christ.  The sons of the Kingdom are those whom Jesus has rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  The sons of the evil one are the exact opposite.  They are those who reject salvation and are still slaves to the power of the devil.

When Jesus explained the parable, He pretty much emphasised the harvest.  Jesus explained that day with these words: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”  Those who reject salvation will suffer eternally.  Those whom Jesus has rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil will spend eternity in the presence of God the Father.

There is one feature of the parable that Jesus did not explain.  Jesus explained the meaning of the parable at harvest time.  Jesus did not explain the meaning of the parable for the time that the good seed and the weeds were growing side by side.  What is the meaning of the parable during that time?

Remember the conversation between the owner and His servants.  When the weeds became apparent, the servants asked the master, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather [the weeds]?’  But [the master] said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” This conversation indicates that the good plants and the weeds are not that easy to separately identify when they are growing together, and in the attempt to weed them out good crops could be destroyed as well. The weeds will remain in the field until the harvest when they can be easily identified.  With these words, Jesus taught that the Sons of the Kingdom must endure the presence of the sons of the devil in this world until the Last Day.

Since the sons of the evil one are still slaves to the power of the devil, they serve his wants.  The real tragedy is that the sons of the evil one may not even realise who they serve.  They are the ultimate moles who even deceive themselves.  Some of these moles may even think they are serving God.  Jesus Himself said this on the evening before He died on the cross.  He said, ^{[John 16:2]} “Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”

Deception is the main weapon of the devil.  In fact, Jesus said this about the devil: ^{[John 8:44]} “[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.  If the devil is a liar, then it makes sense that his slaves will also lie.  Just like the mole in a spy thriller, they hand out false information; and, since they may not know what they are doing, they may even spread this false information and sincerely believe it is the truth of God.

Since the devil does not care which lie we believe, he has multiplied lies and spread them throughout the world just like the weed seeds in the parable.  The slaves of the evil one have created lies for every culture, every personality type, and every situation.  These lies are seductive, they make sense in a worldly way, and they may even contain an element of beauty.  Never the less, they are lies and their goal is to lead us away from the Word of God.

These lies try to teach us that God is too big and important to care about us.  On the other hand, the Bible says, ^{[Hebrews 4:15]} “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  Unlike the politicians who SAY, “I feel your pain,” Jesus actually has experienced all the evil that there is in this sin filled world.  He has experienced our pain and much, much more.

Have you ever felt alone?  Jesus experienced profound loneliness.  When the time of trial came, His disciples ran away.  As He hung on the cross, He was alone against the forces of evil.  Jesus did not just feel that the world was against Him.  The entire world actually was against Him. 

Have you ever felt abandoned?  As Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  In a way that we could ever understand, even God the Father forsook Jesus.

Jesus experienced everything that this sinful world can dish out.  There is no trial that comes our way that Jesus has not already faced.  The devil does not want us to know this.  He will send his lies into the world to rob us of this comfort.

Jesus went far beyond any pain that we can feel in this world.  He actually endured and satisfied the full wrath of God’s justice against our sin.  When Jesus hung on the cross, alone, against the world – forsaken by His Father – He endured hell for you and me.  The devil does not want us to know any of this because he does not want us to receive the benefit of Christ’s suffering.

The devil does not want us to know that although we were once enemies of God, we are now His children.  He does not want us to know that although we were once slaves to sin, we now rule with Christ.  He does not want us to know that although we deserve eternity in the tortures of hell, we now have eternal life with God.  He does not want us to know that all these things are ours because of the holy life and the innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

The devil most certainly does not want us to know about the sign that certifies that all these things are true.  The sign that certified the truth of all of Christ’s gifts is the resurrection.  After Christ endured our pain – after He took our place – after He died for us, He rose from the dead.  The sign of our risen saviour assures us that we now have peace with God.  It assures us that when the final harvest comes, we too shall rise and our mortal bodies shall be clothed in immortality.  We will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.

This is the central and main truth that the devil and his sons want to hide from us.  The devil has sown his seed in this world in order to spread his lies.  He would rob us of our faith and hope.  He would rob us of our salvation.  Jesus used the parable in today’s Gospel to warn us that the sons of the devil will surround us while we live in this world.  Jesus has promised to be with us and protect us and He has sent the Holy Spirit to work in us to establish and sustain us in the true faith.

Jesus also taught us that a harvest is coming when the angels will remove the devil’s influence from this world and throw him into the eternal fire.  Then we will live in eternal peace shining like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

     

Pentecost 6 – 12 July 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

The text for this meditation is written in the 13^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 1 – 9 & 18 – 23:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ Let anyone with ears listen!”

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

One does not have to be too advanced in years to be amazed by the incredible technological advancement in all manner of farm and agricultural machinery.  The continually evolving development of robotics reduces the human input, and human error for that matter. In some areas the machinery can drive itself.  In the area of grain crops, the harvesting equipment can monitor the yield as it works its way through a field.  In turn, other equipment can use that yield data to meter out fertiliser and other chemicals in precise amounts in order to produce the best yield in the next crop.

The whole point of this technology is for the farmer to do what all businesses want to do … get the best return on investment.  You want to invest in seed, equipment, fertilisers, and other chemicals so that you get the most cost-effective yield.  On the other hand, you don’t want to waste any of your investment.

First century farmers in Israel didn’t have all the technology that we have today, but they still wanted to get the most they could from their investment.  They would make sure that all the seed they sowed fell on good soil.  They would avoid throwing seed on hard packed roads, rocky ground, or thorns.  They wanted all the seed to produce a good crop.

This morning, we heard Jesus tell a parable about a different kind of sower.  The people who heard Jesus tell the parable would say that the sower was very careless. ^{(Matthew 13:4–7)} “Some seeds fell along the path, other seeds fell on rocky ground, and still other seeds fell among thorns”.  This sower is sowing the seed everywhere.

Later, Jesus took the disciples aside and explained the parable.  He tells them that the seed being sowed, is the proclaimed Word of God.  In this context, the sower is anything but careless, he sows with abundance in all places, spreading the message of God’s generosity and His mercy; even in the most unlikely places. The proclamation of the Word of God is for all people in all places and times. We are told in ^{(1 Timothy 2:4)} “[God our Saviour] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”.

To understand the relevance to us today, the careless sower could be anyone who shares the Word of God.  It could be an apostle, prophet, priest, teacher, the head of a household, or even just one friend sharing God’s Word with another, it could be you or me.  In each case Jesus has promised that the Holy Spirit will be at work when the sower shares the Word of God.  The teaching of the parable is that those who proclaim God’s Word are generous with it.  They throw the Word of God everywhere.

Different people, though, respond differently when they hear the Word of God.  That is the main illustration of the parable.  Jesus broke the response into four different categories … the well-travelled path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good earth.

Jesus began with those who simply reject the Word.  He said, ^{(Matthew 13:19)} “When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and denies it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path”. Although God wants to save everyone, there are those who reject the Word and resist the Holy Spirit.  They remain in unbelief and under God’s judgment by their own choice, allowing the devil gets a foothold, and the Word means nothing to them.  They have hardened their heart against the work of the Holy Spirit by simply refusing to believe.

The hardened soil of the path reminds us that there is a real battle going on for the lives of men, women, and children.  Satan makes it his business to cast doubts about the Word of the Kingdom.  This was his strategy at the beginning. ^{(Genesis 3:1)} “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The evil one’s first words to Eve replaced God’s Word with doubt.  Already, the evil one was coming and snatching away the Word that was sown in Eve’s heart.  The hardened soil and the birds represent the devil snatching the Word and taking it away from us.

Then there is the rocky soil.  At first the effect of the Word on the rocky soil seems hopeful, but then tragedy strikes.  Jesus said, ^{(Matthew 13:20–21)} “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away”. Here the seed produces results just for a while in that thin layer of topsoil of enthusiasm.  This type of person receives the word with joy. They join a local congregation.  They may even become quite active, but because there is no root to feed from, if their faith is tested in ways we all experience, they wither and fall away.  

In reality, we as Christians and church leaders can easily fall prey to the ‘rocky soil’ scenario. 

The decline in worshipping membership of Christian churches over the past three decades saw the introduction of the ‘Christian Marketing Movement’. This was a movement ( and still is in some cases) where modern pop music, fun and entertainment became central to the worship service. The sermon was modified to avoid ‘boring’ anyone, and in a subtle way the central message of God’s Word became subordinate to the desperate need to grow in numbers. 

In the early 2000’s, I was a ‘Locum’ Pastor, filling in for the Pastor on leave, in a church of moderate size. This church had two bands and two data projectors that worked in sync with lyrics and graphics. This whole atmosphere was so dynamic, that I felt intimidated and almost apologetic about preaching a regular sermon. The long standing well-grounded congregation members, deeply embedded in the faith, were reluctantly allocated a time slot for a ‘traditional service’, but their numbers remained steady. The dynamic 10:00am service was packed with young people who were really animated and energised; it was really happening, and growth was amazing. About one year after I filled in there, the Pastor with all the moves and music moved to another parish. Within three months of him leaving, the 10:00am service numbers diminished fairly rapidly. The seeds of God’s Word had not been sown in good soil. When the entertainment stopped, and the challenges came, they fell away.  It is just as Jesus said.  “[They endure] for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately [they fall] away”.  

            The third scenario illustrates a similar tragedy.  Jesus said, ^{(Matthew 13:22)} “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful”. Once again, the seed sprouts.  Once again, this type of person joins a local congregation.  The problem here is that the cares of this world are more important than the Word of the kingdom.  A late party on Saturday night or even late-night television is more important than being rested up enough to receive God’s Divine Service.  Football matches, Athletic contests, music, dancing class and other extra-curricular activities are more important than Bible class or family devotions.  Basically, there are so many things to do in this world that God’s Word becomes an afterthought instead of a priority.  The thorns represent the world enticing us away from the salvation proclaimed in the Word of the Kingdom.

The last type of soil illustrates the fruit that God’s Word can bear.  Jesus said, ^{(Matthew 13:23)} “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” This time, the roots of God’s Word run deep.  It thrives and produces a harvest.  In fact, the numbers that Jesus used are miraculous yields for that time and place.

It should be well noted though, that even the good soil is dead until God’s Word takes root in it.  The power comes from God and He uses His Word to distribute that power.  God works in us as we read or hear the Word.  He brings us into His family as that very same Word combines with the water of Holy Baptism to join us to Christ in His crucifixion.  He sustains and strengthens our faith with the Word combined with bread and wine as He offers Himself to us in His body and blood.  These are the Means of Grace whereby God works the power of His Word in us.

Jesus makes it very clear in this parable that it is the deep roots of the seed that produce the fruit.  Then He tells us that the seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the roots are the understanding of that Word.  Therefore, when Jesus talks about the depth of the roots, He is talking about the depth of our understanding of the Word of the Kingdom.  He is also talking about the effect that the Holy Spirit has as He works through that Word.

When the roots of the Word of the Kingdom run deep in us, we see that all of Scripture points us to the salvation we have in Jesus Christ.  The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Life of the Saviour – a life that He lived in our place because we cannot keep the law of God.  The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Death of the Saviour – a death that satisfies God’s holy and righteous justice against our sin.  The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Resurrection of the Saviour – a resurrection that assures us that the Holy life and innocent death of the Saviour were accepted as payment in full for all our sins.

The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature want to drive us away from our Saviour.  Their first step in alienating us from God is the same now as it was in Eden: “Did God actually say?”  They constantly strive to prevent the growth of the roots of the Word.  They constantly make the case against regular church attendance and regular Bible study.  When we think it is not important to have an insatiable appetite for the knowledge of the Word of the Kingdom, we are playing right into the devil’s hand.  That is exactly what he wants … humans who are weak because the Word of the Kingdom has not put deep roots into their hearts.

Jesus encourages us with the words, ^{(Matthew 13:9)} “He who has ears, let him hear.” Hearing is how the Holy Spirit gives understanding to us … how He causes the Word of the Kingdom to grow deep into our hearts.  Hearing is how the Holy Spirit reveals the salvation of Jesus Christ to us.  It is as the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah tells us: ^{(Isaiah 55:10–11)} “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. May the Word of the Kingdom dwell and grow deep in your hearts.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Pentecost 5 – 5 July 2020 – Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for this meditation is written in the 7^th Chapter of St Paul’s letter to the Romans: Verses 14 – 25a:

¹⁴ For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin.^[a] 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, ²³ but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

According to Guinness World Book of Records, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.

The publishers across the world are down on market share. Electronic media is tearing the heart out of their industry, and yet the print version of the Bible is still selling at record rates. Market research is required as a matter of urgency and so we imagine a scenario where they appoint a ‘high roller’ market research company to conduct a poll. After hours of conferencing on their proposed strategy, they deduct that the only way to avoid clouding the issue with theological, ideological and emotional opinion, there needed to be only one question asked in the poll. “Why did God give us the Bible?” 

How do you think most people would answer that question?  Well some statistics that I have able to glean, and other responses I relate from experience: The ‘don’t really know’ group said “The Bible is an ancient book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man”: ….. The there were the ones who said “God gave us the Bible because the Bible is a God Inspired Book through which God speaks to us, but it is old and much of it cannot be taken literally”: ……The most popular answer was: “God gave us the Bible to show us how to live.”  

So many people believe that the Bible is a “Code of Conduct’ that provides us with guidelines on how to live life as a good person”. This observation is endorsed by the belief that if we put in a good faith effort to keep God’s do’s and don’ts, God will make us healthy, wealthy, and wise and, when we die, He will let us into heaven. To summarise there are less than 35% of people who accept the Bible as God’s inspired Word handed down to all people that we may attain forgiveness, salvation and eternal life with Him. In the main the general consensus is that the Bible is a book of rules to teach us how to live out a good and acceptable life.

You know, the sad and frustrating fact is that the Bible actually teaches the exact opposite.  John 3:16 does NOT say, “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten son to show us how to live.”  NO! Instead it says, ^{[John 3:16]} “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Over and over and over again, the Bible clearly states that salvation is a free gift of God that comes to us as the Holy Spirit works faith in us so that we believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.  Our own good works have nothing to do with our salvation.  In fact the prophet Isaiah tells us that ^{[Isaiah 64:6]} “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment”. 

The Bible is very clear on this point.  Each week, many faithful preachers emphasise this point as they follow Christ’s instructions to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name.  How then do people get the idea that our good works actually contribute to our salvation in some way?

One problem is our own human nature.  Generally speaking, the majority of humans have a sense of guilt driven accountability that says if we break something then we need to fix it.  This is all very good when we break the living room lamp.  We can either fix the living room lamp or replace it.     On the other hand, Adam and Eve broke the universe when they ate of the forbidden fruit in Eden.  They corrupted the universe with sin.  Humanity simply does not have what it takes to put the universe right again no matter how hard we try.  In fact, the harder we try, the worse things become.  Only God working through Jesus Christ can set things right again.

In reality, another reason that the general public has varying ideas about Biblical salvation is a result of historical doctrine developed within the Christian community itself.  As a result of the Reformation which commenced in 1521 when Dr Martin Luther disputed the doctrine of the Papal hierarchy as not being in line with the Holy Scriptures as written in their truth and purity,  Luther was excommunicated from the church. Those that followed Luther were called ‘Protestors’ which was later became ‘protestants’. Among the protestors were a number of eminent theologians who thought that Luther did not go far enough, and so from people such as Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, John Wesley, John Knox, and John Smyth and others came the doctrine that forms the foundational beliefs of the variance of denominations we see in our society today. 

Among these denominational groups ^(*), there are some who have adapted and ardently teach the theological doctrine called “Entire Sanctification”. Here is how one of these groups describes this teaching in its literature.  “Entire Sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one's neighbour as one's self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.” ^[i]  To put it more simply, Entire Sanctification teaches that a Christian, by their own efforts, can achieve sinless perfection here on this earth and that every Christian should try to do just that.  As a result, a visitor to one of these groups will probably hear more about Christian perfection than about the gift of forgiveness that Jesus earned for us on the cross.

The Apostle Paul has a very different take on the life of a Christian.  In today’s Epistle Reading from his letter to the Romans, we hear Paul say such things as, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. …  I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  What Paul describes is a battle and no kind of perfection at all.

When the Holy Spirit works faith in us, we join a war.  It is war unlike any other war.  We do not have to look for the battle.  The battle comes to us.  We become the battlefield.  The war takes place inside of us – in our very soul.  The devil, the world, and our old sinful nature are the enemy.  

The devil detests God, but he cannot attack God.  God is almighty.  The devil would lose.  So the devil attacks the beloved of God.  He expends his every resource to take as many humans to hell as possible.  This is the only revenge he can take – a revenge of absolute detestation for God and for all that God loves – especially us.

People who reject Christ do not experience this particular war.  The devil has no reason to attack them. They already walk in fear of their spiritual life .  As we are told in Matthew 7: Verse 13, they are already on the broad road that leads to destruction.  In fact, we could point to people who seem to have no relationship with God whatsoever, but still seem to thrive and prosper.  The psalmist expressed frustration over such people.  ^{[Psalm 73:3, 5, 12] “}For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  ⁵ They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.  ¹² Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches”.  What they do not know is that they are experiencing the peace of the spiritual grave.  Such are living in a false sense of security with no idea of what waits for them when they leave this world.  Why should the forces of evil expend any energy on those who are already destined for destruction?  Why not keep them as comfortable as possible while they travel the road to eternal damnation?

The war begins when the Holy Spirit works faith in the heart.  The Holy Spirit establishes the faith that receives the gifts of God – forgiveness, life, salvation.  At the same time, the Holy Spirit creates a new being in us – a holy child of God – a child who desires the Father’s will.  The only problem is that our old sinful nature is still around.  In this way, every Christian is divided.  There is the holy child of God striving for righteousness and holiness, and there is the old sinful nature constantly trying to turn us back to the broad road that leads to spiritual destruction.  In a way, the idea of the evil twin is a reality in the life of every Christian.

I am reminded of the old, classic cartoons that I used to watch as a young fella.  Maybe you remember a time when the cartoon character was struggling with its conscience.  There would be a miniature version of the character with pitchfork and horns whispering into one ear and another miniature of the character with halo and harp whispering into the other.  It’s kind of cute in the cartoon, but it is deadly serious in the real life of the Christian.  

Paul’s words in the epistle show us that Christians have an old nature and a new nature that battle in us.  He complained that he listened to the old nature all too often.  Much to his intense frustration, he sinned on a regular basis.

As Christians, we are each battle fields in the war.  We all join in Paul’s lament.  We see that we sin much and deserve nothing but punishment both here on earth and forever in eternity.  We cry out with Paul: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the answer.  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  The answer, as it always is, is Jesus.  Jesus is the warrior who defeats sin, death, and the power of the devil.  He not only forgives all our sins in order to bring us into His family, but He also forgives the sins of those who are already in His family.  In fact, the only people who are outside of His family are those who refuse His forgiveness. There should be no doubt, those on the broad highway, living in sin, facing death and the depths of hades, are loved equally by Jesus and are welcomed into His fellowship of love and forgiveness if they turn to Him in humble repentance.

The holy, sinless life that Jesus led – His innocent suffering and death – His resurrection and the ascension – all these, Jesus did for us.  Through His holy life and sinless death, He won forgiveness for us.  With that forgiveness comes life and salvation.   He has taken all our sin – all our guilt to the cross, including those sins we commit even after we are a child of God.

When Dr Martin Luther railed against the practices of the hierarchy of the Holy catholic church in 1517 (remembering that at that time there was only one universal [catholic] church), he nailed a list of ninety-five scripturally based disputations (called theses) to the church door in Wittenberg. The first of these theses stated that “the life of the Christian is one of continual repentance”. This is Paul’s message to us today; this is the very principal that we, of all Christian denominations, who have been saved by God’s abundant grace, cling to for dear life.  We mourn the fact that, even as God’s children, we daily sin much.  At the same time we rejoice in the free, abundant and overwhelming forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ. 

The life of the Christian is a battle, but we have the champion who has defeated all our foes, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.  Amen

The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

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[i]     Article XI of the Evangelical United Brethren EUB Confession of Faith

The Evangelical United Brethren Church was formed in 1946 by the merger of The Church of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Church.  In 1968, the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church (US).

(*)   Certain traditions and denominations teach the possibility of Christian perfection, including the Catholic Church, where it is closely associated with consecrated life. It is also taught in Methodist churches, in which it is usually known as Christian perfection or entire sanctification.^[1][2] In traditional Quakerism, it is termed Perfectionism.^[3]