Pentecost 24 – 15 November 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 25^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 14 – 30:

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹ For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰ As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

‘For IT will be like a man going on a journey.’
What will? What is ‘it’? 

On Wednesday of Holy Week, as Jesus left the Temple, His disciples marvelled at the beauty of the Temple and it’s impressive architecture. Jesus answered them, ^(Mat.24:1-2) ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ After that, they went to the Mount of Olives, privately. And they asked Him, ^(Mat.24:3-4) ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and the close of the age’? And Jesus answered them…’. 

As to the question of ‘WHEN these things will be,’ Jesus says, ^(Mat.24:4-8) ‘concerning the day or the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven or the Son, but the Father only.’ As to the question of ‘what SIGNS to look for,’ Jesus says, politically, ‘You will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.’ Religiously, ‘many false Christ’s and false prophets will appear, and many will be led astray. And those who are not led astray, will be subject to great tribulation and hatred and even death.’ And these ‘signs’ signal just the ‘beginning of birth pangs.’ 

“When you see these signs, then you will know that the ‘close of the age’ is coming, and the ‘new age’ will begin when I come again to judge between those who will be a part of the new age and those who will not”.

We cannot properly understand the meaning of the parable before us this morning, unless we understand in the proper context. Jesus speaks this parable to His disciples on the Mount of Olives in answer to their question. Having answered the ‘when’ and the ‘what,’ He now answers the even more important, ‘how.’ How should the disciple of Jesus live in these last days at the close of the age, when these signs are clearly taking place all around?

That’s what ‘it’ is. ‘It’ is the life of the believer during these last days. ‘It will be like a man going on a journey. He called His servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.’

The ‘man’ is Jesus. He is the master and it’s His property. The ‘servants’ are specifically, His servants. You know, everyone is a servant to one master or another. Some serve master mammon; the god of greed and wealth. Some serve master Jesus. But ^{(Matthew 6:24)} “no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.’ 

This parable is only about those who serve master Jesus. They were at one time, slaves of master mammon. But Jesus called them out of darkness and into His marvellous light and they live under His good and gracious rule. 

A ‘talent’ is a huge sum of money. In modern currency, one gold talent weighs 33kg and is valued at $1.3 Million; so you do the maths.

‘To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one.’ It’s the ultimate economic stimulus package. 

Our Lord is not a Socialist here. There is no theoretical equality in the distribution of wealth. He ‘entrusts’ to each ‘according to his ability.’ Some are entrusted with more, some with less. And it’s not based on ‘favouritism’ or ‘party politics,’ but on ‘ability.’ All may be equally willing and equally faithful, but not all are equally able. Some grew up in the church, some are brand new to the faith. Some had great Sunday School teachers and influential pastors, some carry the scars of bad examples and unfaithful teachers. Some have more ‘ability’ than others. 

‘And then He went away.’ No contracts, no guidelines, no threats. He just distributes His property and goes away.

In the world of corporate finance, this would be called ‘negligence,’ or ‘bad management.’ But Jesus calls it ‘trust.’ ‘He entrusted’ it to them. ‘Trust’ is a risky thing. ‘Trust’ can be broken. ‘Trust’ can be betrayed. No guarantees, no insurance in case of failure. The one who ‘trusts’ is completely vulnerable. ‘Trust’ simply ‘trusts.’ Your financial advisor will tell you it’s always much safer to ‘not trust.’ 

I was talking to a mother of a girl who only this year went off to university. She told me that of all the girls on her daughter’s accommodation floor, she was the only mother who had not insisted that, before leaving, her daughter must go on contraception. The daughter wrote a beautiful letter to her mother, ‘thanks for trusting me Mum.’ There is something very special going on between that mother and daughter.

‘The master entrusted to them His property. Then He went away.’ There’s something very special going on between this master and His servants. 

How do we handle a ‘trust’ like that? That’s what ‘it,’ the life of faith in ‘these last days,’ is all about. How do we handle the master’s trust in us? 

The one entrusted with five talents put them to work as did the one entrusted with two. They ‘traded with them.’ Today we’d probably say, ‘they helped stimulate the economy.’ Which is just what the master intended them to do. Only the economy that He had in mind is not the ‘economy of the nation,’ but the ‘economy of the Kingdom of Heaven.’ 

And don’t you just get the feeling that both of these servants had a lot of fun ‘trading’ with what the master entrusted to them? And much to their joy, they discovered that the more they traded with the master’s ‘talents,’ the more they produced. Each one ended up with twice as much as the amount with which he started. 

And who do you think was more pleased and excited about that, the servants or the Master? The servants can’t wait until the master returns. ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I made five talents more.’ And the other is just as excited to hand over all that the master’s property has produced under his stewardship. They are so grateful for the trust that He has bestowed upon them. ‘Thanks for trusting me, Master.’ 

And in His joy, the Master says, ‘well done, good and FAITHFUL servant. You have been FAITHFUL with LITTLE.’ Notice, the master does not commend them for their profitability or success, but for their faithfulness. Faith simply takes hold of, embraces that with which it is entrusted. 

And notice too, that He calls what He had entrusted to them ‘a little.’ We thought it was a huge and extravagant amount. But He calls it a ‘little.’ ‘I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ‘You thought that was fun. Wait until you see the joy I have in store for you.’ His joy is their joy.

But there still one more servant to consider. What about the one who was entrusted with one talent? Maybe he wasn’t as ‘able’ as the other two. But he was just as ‘trusted’ as the other two. And the joy set before him was the same.

‘He went and dug in the ground and hid his masters’ money.’
Here is a man who knows nothing of that ‘special relationship between servant and master’ that we have been talking about. For him, everything that the master entrusts to him becomes a stifling limitation and a burden that he feels obligated to drag around with him where ever he goes. He wishes that the master had never entrusted him with a thing. Then he would be free to serve master mammon without the hang-ups and the sense of obligation to the master that nags at him. He would gladly squander the whole ‘talent’ on reckless living, but deep down inside, there is that nagging fear that on his return the Master will demand an accounting of his stewardship. His` was a relationship of guilt.

‘I know what I’ll do’, he says. ‘I won’t disavow my baptism or my confirmation or all of those sermons and Communion suppers that were entrusted to me. No, I’ll just ignore them. I’ll wrap them up in a handkerchief and bury them in a safe place. That way, if I ever actually have to give an account of what was entrusted to me, I can dig up the past and present my baptismal certificate and confirmation certificate to the master. I’ll say, ‘here, you have what is yours.’ 

Sure enough, the day came for this servant just as it did for the others. And the man dug up his ‘talent’ and presented it to the Master just as he planned. ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid.’ 

Dr Martin Luther in his explanation of the 1st Commandment, explains in regard to the sinful nature of humankind: “your God is whoever you believe Him to be”. ‘To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in him from the heart. You see, it is the trust and faith of the heart that makes both God and idol.’ This man believed that God is a ‘hard man to be feared.’ And so that’s the God he got.

The Master uses the servant’s own words to condemn him. ‘You say that you believe that I am a hard man reaping where I do not sow and gathering where I have not scattered seed. No you don’t. If you really believed that, ‘then you would have invested my money with bankers, that at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.’ The truth is, ‘you are a wicked and slothful servant.’ 

So, there could be an easy outcome to this address – “Make up your mind” – Choose your God – Loving and trusting or mean and fearful – It’s all up to you. You know at the time of creation God did basically say “Here is a perfect life, obey just one command and you live in paradise forever” It was all up to us. We blew it then, and we have not stopped blowing it ever since; as sinners we don’t have the privilege of choice; we just don’t have the ability.

Because of our sinful nature, it was with divine joy that Jesus came into this world to trade with what was entrusted to Him by the Father. And the Father entrusted the Son with ‘much,’ in fact, with everything, ‘according to His ability.’ For His ability is ‘able’ to redeem the whole world. 

Jesus traded with all of the divine attributes that are rightfully His, healing the sick, casting out the demons, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and absolving repentant sinners. Ultimately this true ‘servant of the Lord’ traded everything the Father has given to Him, even His body and blood. In His joy, the Father called His Son up from the grave and says, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ And we, who are raised with Christ as a result of His faithful stewardship, ‘share in the joy of our master’; forgiveness of sins; eternal life; the promise of eternal peace.

How loving and forgiving is our Lord and Saviour; in spite of all the times we have failed Him, this very day, here in this place, He is again trusting us with things of great value – The absolution of our sins;  His Word of truth; His Body given for us; His blood shed for us; His blessing as we go out into the world.  But this time He gives us direction; By the power of the Holy Spirit that He placed within us at our Holy Baptism, we can hear Jesus telling us to ^{(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. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 

Imagine our joy, as trusted servants, when we stand before Jesus on that day and he reaches out His hand and says ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 

You know there really is something special going on between us and our Master.  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 23 – 8 November 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 25^th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verse 1 – 13:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

During these last few Sundays of the church year, the Gospel readings call our attention to Jesus teachings about the last days.  As Jesus teaches these last things His public preaching ministry is also coming to its last days.  He has finished a day of teaching in the Temple and He and the disciples are now camped out on the Mount of Olives looking over the valley toward Jerusalem.  In a few days, the authorities will arrest Him and then He will suffer and die on the cross. 

 

Jesus taught His disciples many things during His teaching ministry – things about the Kingdom of heaven – things about His suffering, death, and resurrection – things about the future.  Then, as He approached the cross, He taught about the final Day of Judgment.

As often happened during His ministry, the disciples didn’t understand this teaching at first.  It was not until after the resurrection that they really began to understand.  Although they did not always understand, Jesus continued to teach them.  He knew that the day would come when the Holy Spirit would make the teaching clear.  Then they would remember what He said.

The teaching about the Last Day in today’s parable may be summed up in the words, “Expect the unexpected.”  Jesus Himself explained this when He said, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”  Watch – be ready – be like a boy scout and be prepared.  Why, because the last day will be a surprise for everyone.

Jesus used the setting of a wedding celebration to make His point.  Even today, we can point to marriage as metaphor for the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church.  In the first century Middle East, marriage traditions were an even clearer metaphor for that relationship.

The key difference for today’s parable is that couples in the first century Middle East did not live together immediately after the wedding.  There was a period of betrothal.  The bride would return to her parents’ home after the wedding and wait for the groom to provide a place for them to live.  Once the groom had a home for his bride, he would go to her parents’ home in grand procession with his family and friends and they would then escort the bride, her family, and friends to the couple’s new home.

The ten virgins in today’s parable were waiting for just such a procession.  They were to escort the bride and the groom to their new home with a procession of light.  Each of the virgins would light the way with her lamp and accompany the bride and groom as they entered the city, processed to their new home and celebrated the beginning of their new life together.

Of course, back in the days when Jesus told this parable, there were no mobile phones, no texting, no e-mail – there was no way to let anyone know anything about the bridegroom’s progress.  You knew he had left to get his bride and you knew he would return sometime in the next few days, but exact schedules were impossible.  No one knew the travel conditions.  No one knew how long it would take the bride to gather her family and friends together.  The groom might escort the bride into the village this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow sometime, or maybe even the next day.  You just didn’t know when the groom would show up with his new bride until you saw them coming.

This image of the groom going away to prepare a place for the bride and then returning to take her home exactly matches the words of Jesus Christ to His disciple in the upper room.  ^{[John 14:2]} In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Just as the virgins had no idea when the bridegroom might return, so we also have no idea when we might leave this world.  Are we to leave this world when Jesus returns?  He might come before I finish this sermon or he might come thousands of years from now.  Jesus Himself said,  ^{[Matthew 24:36]} “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”  

On the other hand, if the Lord lingers on, we will leave this world through the gate of physical death.  Again, we have no idea if we will live through the day or go on living through the century.  Again Jesus said, ^{[Matthew 6:27]} “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”  

So, whether we leave this world when the Lord returns or whether we leave through the gates of physical death, it is very likely to be a surprise – an event that has little or no warning – an event that can be a disaster if we are not ready.

However what does it mean to be ready?  The parable symbolises readiness with oil.  The prudent virgins had containers of oil with them and were ready to light the way for the happy couple.  The foolish virgins had lamps, but no oil.  They were not ready.  When the watchman on the wall announced the appearance of the bridal party, the foolish virgins had to leave and get oil.  By the time they returned, they missed out.

The parable in today’s Gospel focuses on the return of the bridegroom for His bride, the Church.  In order to understand what it means to be ready, we must ask a question.  How is it that the Holy Christian Church became betrothed to the Son of God?

Tradition called for a groom to pay a bride price for his future wife.  The price would be things of commercial value – livestock, crops, currency, and so forth.  With the bride-price, the groom made the bride his own.

Jesus Christ paid a much greater bride-price for the Holy Christian Church.  The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to tell us, ^{[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, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”  These words teach us that Jesus paid the bride price for the church not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.  With His suffering and death on the cross, Jesus makes us His own.  It was at the cross that Jesus created the Holy Christian Church and made her into His holy bride.  All those who are members of the Holy Christian Church are ready for His return.

We become members of the Holy Christian Church when the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to create faith in us.  We remain in the Holy Christian Church as the Holy Spirit maintains our faith through that same Word.  That Word of God comes to us as we read and hear it.  It also comes to us as we receive it with the waters of Holy Baptism and with the bread and wine of the Lord’s Table.  With these Means of Grace the Holy Spirit maintains our readiness for our Last Day on this earth.  With these Means of Grace, we will be ready even though our Last Day is a surprise.

The five foolish virgins in today’s parable represent all those who are not ready because they have neglected the Means of Grace.  They have rejected the Word of God and so starved their faith.  The foolish virgins heard the most terrible words that their Lord could utter, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”  From these words we learn that those who have starved their faith to death will experience an eternity with no sense of God’s presence.  They will finally acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, but it will be too late.  The door will be shut and no one will open it. They will suffer an eternity without the joy of God’s presence.

On the other hand, the five prudent virgins represent all those who cherish the Means of Grace.  They abide in the word.  Their faith is well nourished.  The Holy Spirit will work through Word and Sacrament to nourish and maintain their faith in Jesus Christ and His work.  In today’s parable, the prudent entered the wedding feast.  These are the ones who are ready.  They will rise from the dead to experience the eternal joy of God’s presence.

They will rise from the dead because they will be following the one who opened the door with His own resurrection.  Today, that door is still open, but the day is coming when it will close.  Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ loves us more than we could ever comprehend, so he loving counsels us ‘Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour’.  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

 

All Saints Day – 1 November 2020 – Year A

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

 

The text for meditation is written in the 3^rd Chapter of the Epistle of 1 John: Verses

 1 – 3:

 

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³ And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

 

 

Last night (31 Oct 20) was “All Hallows Eve”: This was originally the traditional pagan Celtic festival of Sow-win, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Sow-win. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving lanterns out of pumpkins, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.

 

Halloween was not really an Australian thing, it’s only in the past couple of generations that commercial marketing has filled the shops with everything Halloween. Children – young and not so young – love to dress up in costume and come to our doors trick-or-treating. Properly supervised it’s harmless fun, and it is always a joy to watch children enjoying themselves, especially when it requires effort and imagination and no electronic devices or computers.  

 

In regard to children, may I tell you of a wonderful story of a husband and wife who have no children of their own, and for a number of years have been seeking to adopt a child. For anyone who has been in this situation, you know it can be an achingly slow process. This couple submitted all the required paperwork, went through all the interviews, accomplished everything that needed to be done, and then waited and waited and waited. They hadn’t heard anything for so long they had almost forgotten about it. And then out of the blue, the phone call came from the adoption agency just recently in mid-October. A little boy born only one week earlier was waiting for them, and he is now their own son through adoption. They joyfully had him baptised one week after adoption, and now this child is not only their son, but is also adopted into the family of believers through the waters of holy Baptism.

 

Today on this All Saints Sunday we focus on the truth that we also have been adopted into a family. The words from the Epistle lesson for today tell us this: ” ^{(1 John 3:1)} “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” To be called “children of God” really means something; it means that we have been adopted by God. Through the cleansing blood of Jesus, we have been brought into a living relationship with God and know him as our loving Father and He knows us as his beloved children. Today we celebrate this truth, together with all the saints, who like us have been brought into the family of believers. You see the true message for this Festival of All Saints is about  the “Children of God”; and that is for all time; children who are, who were and will be, living on this earth. Today our thoughts and prayers extend beyond what we know and see here on earth, today, ‘All Saints Day”, we celebrate the eternal blessings of being a loved family member through the death, resurrection and eternal grace of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.  

 

It is precisely because God has declared us to be his own beloved children that we are saints, though we probably do not consider ourselves as such. We often operate with the understanding that saints are larger than life individuals; super-human people who have super-human faith and do super-human things in faith. We see saints as perfect, sinless – without fault. We do not measure up to this, but in truth no one does. We get that we are sinners, but we don’t get that we are saints. In his letters to churches in the New Testament, Paul frequently begins by writing: “To all those in Rome/Corinth/Ephesus who are loved by God and called to be saints”. This is the Biblical truth of what saints are: children of God who are called out of darkness into God’s own marvellous light, who are set apart through faith in Christ Jesus for God’s good purposes in the world. Saints do not merit, deserve, or earn any of this; rather, it is freely given as a gift through God’s grace and received by faith in Jesus. Saints are not self-made people, but Christ-made people. You and I are saints, and so are all who trust in Jesus, those on earth among us here and now, together with those in heaven who have died trusting in Jesus. Together in Christ, we are all the saints, all the children of God.

 

Today’s Scripture lessons point out the present and the future of God’s children, his saints. John writes in the Epistle lesson: ^{(1 John 3:2a)} “Beloved, we are God’s children now…”. This is a present reality, whether we feel like it is or not. God our Maker and Redeemer tells us it is so, and we must not be deceived by what our conflicting thoughts or emotions may tell us. In the Gospel lesson, the Lord Jesus pronounces as “blessed” all of his children who are now poor in spirit, who mourn, the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake all for Jesus’ sake. Present discomforts may trouble us, but Jesus promises that they will give way to a future that is far beyond anything we can imagine. John goes on to say in that Epistle lesson, ^{(1 John 3:2b)} “… what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is”. And this is what is described in that First Reading from Revelation. All those clothed in white robes, washed and made clean in blood of the Lamb, ^{(Revelation 7:15-17)}“… they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”. My friends and fellow saints, this is what awaits us as children of God. The best if yet to be.

 

The truth is, here on earth, saints get weary and discouraged. They struggle with sin every day and can feel beaten down in faith and life. And when we do, there is no better place for us to come than here to the Lord’s altar, for it is here in this blessed Sacrament that Jesus comes to strengthen, forgive, bless and encourage us. In place of our weariness and discouragement, he gives strength and new hope for our journey of faith. In place of our filthy rags of sin he gives us his own robe of righteousness to wear. And besides all this, in a wonderful and mysterious way we are united with that whole heavenly host here at the Lord’s table, even as our liturgy reminds us: “Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying…” And being refreshed and strengthened through Christ’s true Body and Blood given and shed for us, received under forms of bread and wine, we rise up and go back into the world to live as God’s saints, his beloved children who have been set apart for his own good purposes in the world. He calls us to shine with the brightness of his love wherever we go, whatever we do.

 

Truly, by God’s amazing grace, we are all saints. Truly, we are God’s beloved children. Let us now live as God’s beloved children that God may be glorified in us until Christ shall come again. 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 21 – 25 October 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 22^nd Chapter of the Gospel according to  St Matthew: Verses 34 – 40:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.³⁵ One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

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

The Pharisees were on a desperate mission. Over the past weeks we have seen them question Jesus’ authority to teach, which resulted in Jesus exposing their ill intent and hypocrisy with parables; then they tried to discredit Him with a question designed to trap Him. This did not go well for them; and now they are challenging the Son of God of matters of the Law by asking Him a fundamental question about the greatest commandment.

This question should be familiar to students of the Catechism as the basis for the two tables of the law – To ⁽¹⁾Love God – ⁽²⁾Love others.  Jesus tells us that the first and greatest commandment of the Law is to love God with all that we have.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  I really don’t know just what the Pharisees were expecting Jesus to say, as this is the heart of the great Hebrew creed known as the “Shma.”  Shma is Hebrew for hear or pay attention.

The Shma is as follows: ^{[Deuteronomy 6:-4-9] 4} “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  These words were some of the first words that faithful Israelites taught to their children.

It was as if Jesus was saying, “You all know the answer to this one.  You have known the answer since you were a child.  Love the Lord your God.”  

When we look at the Ten Commandments, we see that the first four - ^(1)“You shall have no other gods,” ⁽²⁾You shall not make graven images ⁽³⁾ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,” and ⁽⁴⁾“Remember the Sabbath Day,” are all ways that we love the Lord our God.  We use the Gospel for today to organise these commandments into the first table of the Law; that is the first four commandments which defines “Our relationship to God”. – A Vertical relationship between God and humankind.

You see there is an ultimate truth in the First Commandment that makes it the ‘greatest’ - If we kept the first commandment perfectly, we would automatically keep all the other commandments.  Conversely, we cannot break any other commandment without breaking this one first.  If we could truly love God perfectly, God wouldn’t need to tell us any of the other commandments - we would simply keep them all.  This is the first and greatest commandment.

Then Jesus went on to tell of the second great commandment.  This time He quoted from the last verse of ^{(Leviticus 19:18)} “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”  At that time, Moses had just finished giving a list of ways that the Israelites could care for one another and he summed it up with these words about loving the neighbour.

In this scripture passage we also have a summary of the second table of the Law: ⁽⁵⁾ Honour your parents; ⁽⁶⁾ Do not murder; ⁽⁷⁾ Do not commit adultery; ⁽⁸⁾ Do not steal; ⁽⁹⁾ Do not bear false witness; ⁽¹⁰⁾ Do not covet anything of your neighbour’s:  all six remaining commandments.  All these are a summary of our relationship with those around us. – A Horizontal relationship under God between each other.

Jesus went on to say, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”   

Notice that, according to Jesus, these two statements about love are the foundation of the law – not the Gospel.  Even when we talk about loving Jesus, we are talking about the law.

How easy it is to say this law.  Love God with all your resources and love your neighbour as you love yourself.  This law is easy to say, but impossible to do.  The fact is that we often love ourselves with all our resources, love our neighbour when we will receive something in return and love God with our leftovers.  When we come before God, we must confess as we did earlier in the service, “We have not loved You with our whole heart and we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.  We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment.”

But God does not punish us.  Instead, He shows the love to us that we should show to Him.  He shows us that [ἀγάπη] Agape love that is unconditional and has no barriers.  In this unconditional love, God sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins.  

This is the Christ who is both David’s Son and David’s Lord.  He is David’s Lord by virtue that of the fact that He is true God begotten of the Father from all eternity.  He is David’s Son by virtue of the fact that He is true man born of the Virgin Mary.  In the Christ, we have both God and man in one person.

This God-man, Jesus Christ, is the one and only man in all of history who loved with pure unconditional (Agape) love.  He fulfilled the law and loved God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind.  He fulfilled the law and loved His neighbour as He loved Himself.  This is that love that kept Christ on the cross through all the suffering and the shame.  This is the love that Paul talked about when he wrote to the Romans and said, ^{[Romans 5:8]} “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Only one man in all of history ever loved with pure Agape love.  That man is the God-man, Jesus Christ.  Only He was able to fulfill the law of love and love God with all His heart and with all His soul and with all His mind.  Only He was able to start with the foundation of Agape love and build a life of perfect righteousness.

Now Jesus Christ makes that righteousness and that love available to us.  He makes them available to us because His love extended to the cross.  As His love for us kept Him on that cross, the holy wrath of God assaulted Him for our sins.  In His love, He sacrificed Himself in order to give us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

We know His sacrifice was perfect because His love was too powerful for death.  Jesus did not remain in the grave, but rose in triumph over sin, death, and the devil.

Now He transforms our sinfulness into His righteousness.  He changes our selfish lovelessness into His selfless love.  He pours His love into us even as He once poured forth His blood from the cross.  This is the Gospel – that God pours forth His love onto and into us.

The direction of the love is one way that the law differs from the Gospel.  When the direction of the love is from us to others, then we are talking law.  When the direction of the love is from God to us, then we are talking Gospel.  We often fail to love others.  God never fails to love us.

Even as God pours that love into us, He also pours that love through us.  God’s love reaches through us and touches our neighbour.  The Holy Spirit uses our everyday activities to love our neighbour.  Our job is no longer just a job.  Instead, it is a work that we do not only for our employer, but also for Jesus.  When we clothe and feed our family, it is not just our family that we feed and clothe, but also our Lord.  For on the Last Day, Jesus will say, ^{[Matthew 25:40]} “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”  The Holy Spirit can even use these everyday acts of love to bring the God News of salvation to the people we meet as we live out our lives in this world.

There was a time that each of us hated God as an enemy.  Now He fills us with His love and makes us His beloved children.  Once, we were not a people.  Now we are the people of God.  Once, we were the slaves of sin.  Now we are the free people of Heaven.  Once we were subject to God’s eternal judgment.  Now we are subject to God’s eternal love.  God’s love has conquered evil and made us His children 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 20 – 18 October 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 22^nd Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 15 - 33

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶ So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” ²¹ They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

²³ The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, ²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. ²⁶ The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman herself died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.”

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

(Note: Sermon focus is on Matthew 22: 15-22):

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of the teachings of Jesus a few days before He died on the cross for our sins.  So far, we have heard the high priests and elders challenge Jesus’ authority.  When their challenge failed, Jesus began teaching in parables.  Many of the parables exposed the corruption and hypocrisy among the religious leaders of that day.  He was damaging their reputation … exposing their hypocrisy.  Rather than repent and amend their sinful ways, they decided that they had to publicly humiliate Jesus,  undermine His credibility, regain the upper hand.  Today, we heard that the Pharisees sent a delegation to do just that.

 

The delegation was a strange mixture of two opposing viewpoints. ^{(Matthew 22:15–16)  “}Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. ¹⁶And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians”, … In order to understand how strange this delegation is, we need to review a few cultural details.  The reading mentions the Herodians.  Herodians were politically motivated Jews who supported the Herod family as rulers over Israel. Jews who despised the Pharisees!  The three main Herod rulers ( Herod the Great, Herod Archelaus, and Herod Antipas), were puppet kings of the Roman empire.  They were not Jewish.  They were Gentiles.  Since the Herodians were big fans of the Herod family, they were also big fans of Roman rule.  After all, it was the Romans who kept the Herod’s in power.

 

Then there were the Pharisees.  We’ve met them before.  One of the things we know about the Pharisees is that they tried very hard to keep the law of Moses.  Well, the law of Moses said, ^{(Deuteronomy 17:15)} “You may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” Herod’s rule was in direct contradiction to this passage in Deuteronomy.

 

Ordinarily the Pharisees and the Herodians were enemies.  That is the reason that the delegation who came to Jesus that day was so strange.  The fact that these two groups worked together to attack Jesus tells you something about how much they both hated Jesus.

 

So we’ve got two groups of people who are planning to entangle Jesus in His words.  The disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians came to Jesus saying, ^{(Matthew 22:16–17)}  “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” The strategy is obvious.  First you compliment a person to give him a false sense of security.  Then you hit him with a “got-cha’” question.

 

The question was designed to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place.  Remember that they are in the temple surrounded by Passover pilgrims.  Many of those Passover pilgrims hate the Roman occupation.  If Jesus answered, “Yes, it is lawful to pay tax,” then the people who hated the Roman occupation would hate Him too.  If He answered no, then the Herodians would report Him to the Romans and get Him arrested.  If He did not answer, then the crowd would label Him as a coward.  The Herodians and the Pharisees thought they had Jesus in a no-win situation.

 

In the study of logic they teach that there is a false dichotomy in this question.  A false dichotomy presumes that a question asked has only two possible answers. The false presumption does not take into account that there may be more possibilities.  The disciples of the Pharisees tried to convince Jesus that there were only two answers: “Yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar,” or “No, it is not.”  They didn’t think that Jesus could come up with any other answers.  They thought they had Jesus trapped.

 

Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ^{(Matthew 22:18)} “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Jesus saw through their plan immediately.  It was obvious that they were trying to trap Him.  Everyone who heard the question knew that they were trying to trap Jesus, but Jesus could look at their heart and see the malice they had toward Him.

 

Although it was a trap, Jesus answered their question anyway.  ^{(Matthew 22:19–21)} “Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus exposed the false dichotomy.  He came up with a third answer.  

 

Jesus understood something that they did not.  God is in control of both civil authority and religious authority.  The physical kingdom of power and the spiritual kingdom of grace are not an “either / or,” but a “both / and”situation.  In the Old Testament, in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 45, God pointed out that Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, despite all outward appearances, was God’s own instrument.  The Lord used him to work out history for the ultimate good of his people.  Likewise, when Pilate boasts of his authority either to punish Jesus or to let him go, Jesus answered him, ^{(John 19:11)} “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

 

When Jesus said, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” he was telling us that Caesar and all government is God’s instrument at work in the physical world.  Obeying the laws of the land and participating in our democracy are a part of our obedience to God.

 

Now, while it is all well and good to learn that we are to be faithful to the government that God has placed over us, there is more to learn from this reading.  The delegation of Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus with a false dichotomy.  What false dichotomies do the forces of evil use against us?  Very often our own sinful flesh presents with the false dichotomy of false belief and despair.

 

False belief looks at God’s law in a superficial way and says, “Hey, I can do that.”  False belief says things like: “I lead a pretty good life.  I’ve never murdered anyone or robbed a bank or anything like that.  I’m faithful to my wife.  I spend time with my kids.  Yeah, I think there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll end up in heaven.”  This is the false belief of self-righteousness.  This is the false belief that we often associate with the Pharisees.  The law is doable, and I am doing it.  When you trust your own ability to do good, that is a belief that is false^{. (1 John 1:8)} “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”.

 

The other part of the false dichotomy is despair.  Here we find some very honest people.  They have looked at God’s law thoroughly and deeply.  They fully understand that they cannot keep it.  An interview with these people would find thoughts such as, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.  I am just too old to be saved.”  “No matter how hard I try, it just isn’t good enough.”  “After all I have done, there is no way that God will let me into heaven.”  This is despair.  The Biblical poster model for despair is Judas who hanged himself after he betrayed Jesus.  These are people who believe that their sin is stronger than God’s forgiveness.

 

The two parts of this false dichotomy have something in common.  They both depend on self.  False belief lies and says, “I am good enough to get into heaven.”  Despair says, “I am not good enough to get into heaven.”  Every time we look to self, we get pulled into one of these two choices.  Even those who say, “I will do my best and God will do the rest,” have chosen false belief.  If all I think about is what I can do for myself, then these are the only two possibilities.

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus answered with a third way.  In a similar way, He breaks into our lives to offer us a third way.  Those who live in despair are right about one thing: We can’t live the perfect life needed for eternal salvation, but Jesus did.  He lived a perfect, sinless life.  A few days after the events in today’s Gospel, He died a sacrificial death on the cross.  The following Sunday, He rose from the dead.  Forty days after that, He ascended into heaven.  He did all the things that we confess in the creed and did them all for us.  He provided a third way … a way that leads to eternal life.

 

In today’s Gospel [Jesus] … said, ^{(Matthew 22:21)} “Therefore render … to God the things that are God’s.” With His sacrificial death, Jesus rendered to God the payment for the sin of the world … that is every sin … for every person who has ever lived … for every person who lives now … and for every person who will ever live until the end of time.  He has paid for your sin.  He has paid for my sin.  All our sins are paid in full.

 

The Pharisees and the Herodians in today’s Gospel tried to make Jesus irrelevant by asking a trick question.  When that didn’t work, they gave up on subtlety.  They decided that the only way to remove Jesus from the scene was to remove Him from this life – to kill Him.  During the next few days they carried out their plan and arranged to have Jesus crucified.  When Jesus was dead, the powers of sin, death, and the devil thought they had won.  They didn’t understand that the death of Jesus is His greatest victory.

 

It is by this victory that we receive forgiveness, life, and salvation.  It is by this victory that even though we die, we shall rise again.  For Jesus Himself did not remain in the grave, but became the first fruits of those who rise from the dead.  His resurrection is the assurance that the work He did on the cross is the ultimate victory – the assurance that false belief and despair are our only choices, but Jesus has given Himself as a third choice that leads to everlasting life.

 

The coin in today’s Gospel had an image.  On the cross Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews is the image of the invisible God.  In that image you see what the God of the universe has done to make us his own!  ^{(Romans 8:32)} “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” 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