The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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HAT hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. 16 The LORD called thy name, A, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. 17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee. (Jeremiah 11:15-17)
Thoughts on the Collect
Whether I apply the words of Jeremiah to my church, or to my nation, I cannot pray for their success in wickedness and affronting the very God who blesses them. We live in a nation
whose foundation, like the church, rested upon God and His Word. Long before we saw our freedoms in America begin to dwindle and vanish, we saw our blessed Church fade and dwindle – overcome by the desires to be accepted by the world and a cowardly reluctance to stand upon those truths that made her great. Can I pray for her success in that regard? Can I pray for the success of the leaders of our nation who embrace the filthy practice of homosexual marriage and the murder of innocents before they ever see the beauty of God’s Creation bathed in sunlight? We are now harvesting the bitter fruits of rejecting God as a nation and as a Church. Murder, abortion, vile sexual sins, drug abuse, and alcoholism have grown up in our fields of infidelity. Our children stagger in lost paths, while we revel in our faith in government to the detriment of our faith in God.
The Collect for the 16th Sunday after Trinity makes a proper and appropriate appeal to the only prayer we can truly utter for an apostate church, society, and government. Our weak faith of today did not result from an over-reliance upon government, but our overly reliance on government resulted from our weak faith. The former bastion of freedom and liberty – the early Church in America - failed to stand up when divorce began to grow prolific when the 1st Amendment right of children to pray at any place (especially in school) was abrogated by a renegade judiciary, when the Holy Bible was deemed too harmful for the exposure to children in public schools when abortion (more egregious even than the slaughter of millions in Nazi death camps) became legal and even encouraged, and when high government officials began to advocate for the right of men to marry men, and women to marry women. How far into the abyss can we sink ere we burst Hell wide open? So, can I pray the Prayer Book Prayer for the President (we recently had such a one) who has callously embraced the sinful and opposed the righteous? Yes, for every word of the prayer is honoring of God and calls any man in the office of President to be made aware of his right path and to turn from any wickedness:
O LORD our Governor, whose glory is in all the world; We commend this nation to thy merciful care, that being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and to all in Authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness; and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in thy fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen This prayer calls for righteousness in the President, and should we (as Jonah) be disappointed if he repents from the course he has embarked upon to evil?
Of course, before any President may lead us in righteousness, the heart and soul of America must be open to Christ and willing to follow on a righteous course. Whose duty is it to remind us our responsibilities and debt to God? Is it not the Church – His beloved Bride - who has committed spiritual adultery? O LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church Before God will grant pity, we must ask it of Him. We must ask in the same vein as 2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Does God seek to hear the prayers of ALL people in a wicked land? No, not at all, but He DOES seek to hear the prayers of those who are called by my Name to humble themselves (have we?), and pray (have we?), and seek my face (have we?), and turn from their wicked ways (have we?). Only after this formula shall God heal America. At present, we are NOT a righteous nation. At present, we are not humble. At present, we are not a pure church in prayer. At present, we still pursue a wicked path. But God WILL have pity and grant it for our asking.
Do you believe the America we have known can be safe without the special benevolence and succor of God? ….because it cannot continue in safety without thy succor. It cannot be so preserved without its founding principles established in God for His Church.
The Sermon - As in the days of Noah
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UT as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 24:37-51)
From the moment of the fall of our fleshly father, Adam, in the Garden at Eden, sins began to multiply among the children of man. The results of these sins also led to the increase of disease and pestilence where, in times past, there had been none. Roses grew thorns, and blood began to be shed abroad on the earth as a legacy of Cain’s grievous murder of his brother Abel. As the decades rolled into centuries, and centuries into millennia, the heart of man became all the more wicked and full of evil. The pattern of growing wickedness was temporarily abated by the Flood, but not long after, it began anew in earnest. It continues even to this day of the modern era. Because the memory of Noah is raised by Christ, it should signal to us the importance of knowing and remembering the conditions on earth that led to the Deluge.
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. How were the days when the Ark was under construction? If the enormity of sin in the days preceding the Flood are heralds of the last days, we need to carefully examine those days and compare them with our own time to discover any signs of the Coming of the Lord of all Glory. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5) The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (Gen 6:11-12) When the heart of man is corrupt and full of sin, even the earth also becomes corrupt. After the sin of Adam, God said to him …….cursed is the ground for thy sake….. (Gen 3:17)
The Godly man, Noah, suffered the ridicule and rejection of all society as he labored at the Ark. Moreover, he preached righteousness to an unbelieving people for more than one hundred years. The scorners gathered about as Noah built the Ark under the Divine guidance of God. He warned them of God’s wrath at their wickedness and how God would destroy the whole earth with water. This was unbelievable to these people of Noah’s day for it had never before rained upon the earth from the Creation. Plants were watered by dew that arose at night and refreshed all life. A Flood! What was a Flood? They would soon find out. If God warns of impending judgment, we need not wonder how it can happen – we need only prepare for it! Faithful Noah walked with God. He heard His voice and responded in obedience. No matter how he may have been ridiculed by men, Noah knew that God would still sit on the Throne of Heaven even when these mortal sinners were suffering the flames of Hell.
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. The point made here is that of the complete surprise of the coming destruction of the flood by all living (except Noah and his family). Men had been sinning with impunity since Adam. They continued to sin, to drink, to marry, to given in marriage, to rob, to murder, and to commit every evil imaginable. They felt immune to retribution. The greatest travesty and miscalculation was that these people did not take God seriously. He was too God to bring a devastating judgment against them, so they continued with all disregard to the Creator God who made them.
The presumption of security that these people demonstrated reminds me of the true account of the Captain of the Titanic of the White Star Line just a day prior to its weighing anchor for its fatal rendezvous with an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Captain Edward J. Smith was asked by a reported if the ship was safe – if it could be sunk? Captain Smith responded with this awfully vain comment: ‘Sir, I tell you in complete confidence - God Himself could not sink the Titanic!’ Do we of today believe that time shall go on indefinitely and that we may never face an end of it? Every reader of this devotion has a future place and time, determined by God alone, for dying. We know not the hour or circumstance, but we do know that we alone will not be the exception to dying. We may not know when or how, but we can certainly know and prepare for the condition in which we leave this world – either lost of safe in the arms of Christ. William Saroyan was an Armenian writer whose short stories I came to enjoy while abroad. He was at best a tepid believer. In the early 1980’s, William Saroyan passed away in a Los Angeles hospital. Days earlier, he had sent a note to Walter Cronkite to read only after his demise. After his death, Mr. Cronkite read Saroyan’s note on CBS Evening News: I have always known that everyone has to die sooner or later but, I felt, in my case that there would be an exception – NOW WHAT? If Mr. Saroyan felt the question one he needed to ask, I’m afraid the answer will not be pleasing. Do you know, friend, that you are called and chosen by God?
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Though this prophecy may relate fully to the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Legions under Titus in 70 A.D., it has parallel bearing on the return of Christ at some point unknown to us. Many shall be employed in the same pursuit and action when Christ comes, yet one will be taken and the other left. Why? It is because our good works will not merit heaven for us, but that which is in our hearts.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. If we are fervent students of history, we will see the ugly head of tyranny being raised in our won government as well as abroad. Defending the liberties of our people is not a sometime consideration, but one requiring constant vigilance on the part of the people. We face an even greater prospect with the Coming of the Kingdom of God. We must be on constant watch for our souls and those of our family and neighbors. Be a watchman is a serious business. It is a duty which weighs heavily on the shoulders of every clergyman, and every Christian layperson. We must be awake, we must be watching, and we must sound the alarm. Even in our contemporary times, sleeping on guard duty has ever been punishable with death, because on the carefulness of the watch may depend the safety of the army and the nation. In the Korean Army, our allies during the Vietnam War, a soldier found sleeping on guard would never wake up. He would be shot in his sleep. In the Temple, during the night, the captain of the Temple made his rounds, and the guards had to rise at his approach and salute him in a certain manner. Any guard found asleep on duty was beaten or his garments were set on fire. M. R. Vincent Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Rev 16:14-15) Christ gives here His charge to be watching, for the same reason but even more importantly, for His coming and clothed in the garments of justification and sanctification, so as to be accepted.
If you knew that the End would come at noon today, would your manner of living suffer great change? Near the end of the eighteenth century, there was a day which came to be known in New England history as the Dark Day. On this day, April 19, 1780, the sun was suddenly and inexplicably obscured at the noon hour. The darkness descended on the land from the middle, to the New England, states. The Connecticut Legislature was in session, and some of the members, moved with fear, proposed an immediate adjournment. It is the day of Judgment, they said, and it is not fitting that we should be here. But a Colonel named Davenport, one of the members, stood up and said, I do not know whether this is the day of judgment or not. But if it be the day of judgment it cannot overtake us at a better place than at the post of duty. Let us light the candles and go about the business of the house. And then he made his speech regarding the use fish nets in Long Island Sound. Will you continue your good duty until the Lord finds you then?
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. There are, today, many knowledgeable theologians of whom the Lord may not have been aware for they claim to know the day and hour of His return. I have two small books in my library attesting to the Lord’s return on September 22, 1988 and October 1, 1992 respectively. But wait! Something must be amiss with their reading since the Lord did not come as predicted. A more recent example is the prophecy of Mr. Harold Camping that Christ would return on May 21, 2011. Did we miss that gathering? Such false prophecies attract much attention (as well as money), but the price to be paid by those who speak falsely in the name of the Lord is a serious matter. No one knows the time of the Lord’s return, so let us live every day as if that is the day. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
When I was a child, my parents would often leave me and my younger brother in the care of my older sister. My mother gave me chores to do, and my sister was to be obeyed. As soon as the dust cleared, I usually did whatever I pleased and was not obedient to my sister. Some few minutes before the expected return of my parents, I tried to get my act straight and appear diligent when they returned. Quite often, I completely failed at this object for my parents sometime surprised me by returning earlier than expected. I always paid a greater price for my loathsome failure than I would have paid by doing my duty in the first place. Are we putting off a right relation with God until we are convinced that our days are ending? Live every minute of every day unto the Lord. That way, we will pray with John the Revelator that He shall come quickly, and we shall be ready!
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