The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2017
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Greed and Anxiety
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #23 Hallelujah! Let Praises Ring
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #23 Hallelujah! Let Praises Ring
KJV Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For every man shall bear his own burden. 6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
KJV Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy benefits: that Thou hast given us life and graciously sustained us unto this day: We beseech Thee, take not Thy blessing from us; preserve us from covetousness, that we may serve Thee only, love and abide in Thee, and not defile ourselves by idolatrous love of mammon, but hope and trust only in Thy grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Greed and Anxiety
KJV Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
This is one of the most telling comparisons in the Bible, and we live it - so we must know it. For example, I have two classes of English, both with the same materials, syllabus, the same teacher with the same approach. One is a treat to be with twice a week. The other is difficult. My wife asks, "Is it that bad?" We cannot help but compare.
Or someone has two jobs or even three. One is the best. The others are done out of necessity. No matter how things develop, we have those efforts we treasure and those we consider a burden. I am glad no publishing house grabbed me, because I would have been so tired of discussing books and reading them all day that I would never have written anything. It is borrowed time, so much more fun than serving under the Law and punching a clock.
With these things considered, which are true for all of us, we can start to see the point Jesus is making. We cannot serve two equally. I know of people who join a church with their weekly income in mind. If they attend a rich church with a lot of people, they can make a lot more money for themselves. One family was famous for splitting up into five different congregations, between the husband, wife, and three adult children. Everyone knew what that meant. They were poised to pick up business as undertakers.
Luther definitely picks up on the comparison, and he is quite brutal about it. One example is the person who is afraid of leaving a dollar on the window, lest it be stolen - it is so precious to him. And yet he can do without the Gospel for a whole year because it means so little to him. And he also emphasizes that knowing the Gospel is not enough - we must also live according to it. That is the true meaning of faith, that we take the teaching of Christ into our hearts so much that it moves us to live according to it, which is against human nature in its unconverted state.
As Adam Smith said, "A dog will not give up a bigger bone in exchange for a smaller one." So we naturally eye the things we want and measure our actions accordingly.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
If we use the Gospel of John to shed light on this, we can see that the Good Shepherd is directing our thoughts to the treasure of the Gospel rather than the needs of the day. Luther stated in his second sermon on this text that the two great sins are greed (avarice) and anxiety.
Some have far more than enough (the definition of mammon) and desire even more, because that is their god. Others suffer from high costs or low salaries and become anxious about the future. Also, a financial crisis may come up as a surprise and wipe out one's comfort and dreams about the future. These are all the same, making people wonder if they will have enough, if God is really taking care of them. It is a strange fact of human nature that the super wealthy are more anxious than anyone else about money, perhaps because they know many stories about those who seem to have it all and lost it forever.
Various crises also take away the feeling of security. However, as reasonable or common sense it may seem to be, God's Promises are that He will take care of our material needs first. If we love mammon and think mammon will make us happy, then we really hate God and resent anything we do that is connected with His Name.
Luther's father owned mines, so I think Martin was quite aware of the nature of treasure. Someone can mine copper, for example, and find gold or silver with it. What is relatively rare is valued and carefully handled. An ounce of gold is worth more than I can put in my wallet with $100 bills.
So the irony of this era is that we have mammon, compared to the past. Clothes and food are inexpensive. Living conditions here are better than anywhere else in the world, yet people do not thank God for these blessings. The ingratitude is greater than ever before.
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
My birdfeeders are not getting any business from the birds, and I wondered why. Then I realized the abundance of berries I had for them to enjoy - Poke and Beautyberries. Over 60 kinds of birds eat Pokeberries and plant more for themselves in the future. The bug population is exploding, which we can hear in the crickets singing and see in the beetles crawling under leaf litter. The Beautyberries will be available late into the fall, and Crepe Myrtles have formed delicious seeds for all the Cardinals.
Birds sing happily every morning, without any food in their cupboards. They have to find it new each day, in all kinds of weather. If they are thankful and happy, why are we sad? We have far more value than birds to our Heavenly Father.
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Rose Evangelism
Flowers make people happy. When I bring flowers to a doctor's office or to class, everyone lights up. They want to take home a rose. I never wonder about which roses match in the vase, because all the colors go well together, and they emit a strong or sweet fragrance. One class said, "Bring them every time."
Jesus points the flowers without souls that beautify the earth. This comparison from the lesser to the greater was common in Jewish teaching. If God does this for the flowers that come and go, when what will He do for us?
The incentive to faith is this comparison. These are God's Promises. And we should not wonder that our hearts and spirits fail at times. The disciples heard Jesus teach for three years and saw His miracles, and yet they were stricken with fear and faithlessness for those horrible days of the arrest and crucifixion of their Master. Yet He did not lose one of the faithful, as the Word predicted. He remained faithful and also merciful. Nevertheless, Jesus rebukes us for our lack of faith.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Here is the great moment of this text. The righteous of the Kingdom of God is faith in Christ. Faith in the Good Shepherd, who rescues the lost and cares for His sheep, defeats our twin weaknesses related to our material needs.
