Trinity IX- Luke 15:11-32

 The traditional Gospel for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity is the famous passage from Luke 15 generally known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. There are three central characters in the story: 1) the ungrateful and wasteful son who repents and returns home, 2) the merciful, gracious, and forgiving father who celebrates the prodigal's return, or 3) the legalistic and resentful older brother who is jealous and hurt. All three characters can provide food for thought. 

The most important one is the father, who represents almighty God, the heavenly Father. Everything belongs to him, and he has the right to dispose of it as he pleases. At the same time, this loving father wants to see his sons grow into mature and responsible men, and he allows the sons the freedom to make choices, even bad choices. He continues to love them and wait in hope for them to come to their senses, repent, and return. When they do, he makes his love clear.

Of course, the younger son who is prodigal or wasteful is the dramatic example. His mistakes are obvious. He rebels, leaves home, squanders his inheritance, and falls into a degraded life, envying swine. In such humiliation, he must humble himself even further by returning to the father in repentance, hoping for minimal consideration. Yet, as dramatic as his case is, the wasteful son is not the only sinner. The dutiful son also has problems. He lacks a true appreciation of the graciousness of his father. Outwardly, he has remained near his father, but through his wrong attitudes, he has become spiritually distant from the father, and he also needs to repent.

This familiar story needs to sink into our minds and hearts repeatedly. God is loving, gracious, and merciful. He gives us many things, and He gives us certain freedoms in our responses. Unfortunately, at various times and in different ways, we have all been ungrateful and fallen into sin. So whether our sinfulness has been expressed in dramatic ways or in quiet attitudes, we all need to repent and seek His gracious love.

Wednesday before Easter- Luke 22

This Wednesday in Holy Week has sometimes been called "Spy Wednesday" because tradition has remembered this day as the time when Judas Iscariot agreed with the chief priests to betray Jesus (Luke 22:2-6, 47-48; Matthew 26:1-5,14-25). A variety of human characters opposed Jesus- the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, the Roman rulers, the fickle crowds, and Judas the traitor. Even the other close disciples made the situation worse. They did not really listen to or understand Jesus, and Simon Peter, the spokesman for the Twelve, would lose courage and faith, and he would publicly deny Jesus.

This sad state of affairs reflects the fallen human predicament. All are sinners who contribute to Christ's suffering and death. Yet, He still loves us, dies for us, and offers us His love, grace, and forgiveness. The key is our response to Christ. Judas will later be sorrowful, but he doesn't have faith in Jesus' mercy and forgiveness. Peter and the others will truly repent and trust in Christ's saving grace. As we meditate on the suffering and death of Jesus, may we also trust in the love, grace, and pardon that He offers each one of us!

Trinity I- I John 4: 7-21; Luke 16:19-31

In different ways, both the Epistle and the Gospel for the First Sunday after Trinity talk about love. The Epistle from I John 4 speaks of the love of God the Father who sent His Son to save us. Because of such divine love, believers are called to respond with love for God and for our neighbors, especially for our brothers and sisters in faith.

Today’s Gospel from Luke 16:19-31 is a parable of Jesus which speaks of love with a concrete illustration. This is the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The parable shows us the arrogant, unmerciful, and faithless example of a rich comfortable man and the humble believing example of a poor sick beggar called Lazarus. The parable also indicates that the way people live in this world has consequences in the afterlife.

The parable is simple, but it is also a practical spiritual and moral exhortation and warning. It reflects three common teachings of Holy Scripture. First, God loves all human beings, great and small, rich and poor. He is gracious and merciful, and He wants what is best for us in this world and the next. Secondly, although God is merciful and forgives repentant sinners, He is also holy and just. He expects human beings to respond to His gifts in humility and faith, and He expects us to reflect His merciful nature in our dealings with those around us. Thirdly, we need to be aware that our attitudes and our actions concerning God and other people have consequences in this life and the next. 

Of course, we are all sinners, and none of us always loves God or our neighbors as we should. But God gives us a basic knowledge of His wishes, and He offers us His grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. With divine help, we can seek to become more humble, faithful, and loving in thought, word, and deed. This is the Good News underlying our parable.

Sunday before Lent or Quinquagesima- I Corinthians 13

For this Sunday before Lent traditionally called Quinquagesima (from the Latin, "fifty"), I would briefly focus on the Epistle from I Corinthians 13 and its significance in approaching Lent.  This chapter is the Apostle Paul's great exhortation about true Christian love, and it can be applied in all kinds of contexts. It certainly has a special application at this time in the church year.

As we look to the beginning of Lent on Wednesday, we should keep charity or love (agape) foremost. During this season, most Christians rightly stress the need for greater dedication and special acts of devotion. There is much useful talk about disciplines such as prayer, fasting, Scriptural reading, acts of mercy, special offerings, and so forth. We need to do such things for our spiritual discipline and well-being. Yet, we must also be careful lest we pursue discipline devoid of true charity or love.  Any externally good actions without Christ-like faith, hope, and love prove spiritually worthless.  So we must remain open to the grace of God which is the true source of love for God and our neighbor.

First Sunday after Christmas- Matthew 1:18-25- St. Joseph

 The Gospel for the Sunday after Christmas is Matthew 1:18-25. This Scripture highlights the often neglected role of St. Joseph in the Incarnation. Of course, Jesus Himself is the focus and the Virgin Mary is the highly favored one. Yet, Joseph must not be forgotten. He is a great example of a godly and honorable man. 

In his initial response to the unique pregnancy of Mary, Joseph is a merciful traditionalist. He wants to follow the rules as kindly as possible. But Joseph is also open to change for a good purpose. He hears and heeds the divine call, and in response to God's message, he accepts his vocation with courage and commitment. He is supportive of Mary. He cares for the blessed spouse and for the holy child entrusted to his care.  After the visit of the Wise Men, he leads Mary and Jesus into exile for safety from Herod's cruel slaughter of the Innocents, and later he returns the family to a settled life in Nazareth. Joseph is involved in the religious life of the holy family, as shown in the pilgrimage at Passover when Jesus was twelve. Joseph probably also oversaw young Jesus' basic education in the Scriptures and seems to have passed on his practical carpentry or cabinet-making skills.

In these and many unknown ways, Joseph fulfilled his sacred vocation as a human father. For all those who are human fathers, grandfathers, uncles, or mentors, Joseph is a great example of true manliness. For all Christians, he is an example of love, religious duty, and self-sacrifice. May his example encourage us all in our devotion to and service to Christ!

Trinity XIII- Faith and Love

 On the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, the Epistle from Galatians 3:16-22 and the Gospel from Luke 10:23-37 seem to be talking about very different aspects of religious teaching and experience. The Epistle highlights the importance of faith over the value of specific commands of the Law. The Gospel emphasizes the great commandments of the Law and the importance of loving actions toward God and neighbor. For many believers, the difficulty has been how to fit the two emphases together. Do we start with faith or with love?

In abstraction, love is paramount. God is love, and His dealings with human beings begin with His love. Human beings are called to respond to divine love. Because God first loves us, we are to love Him and our neighbors. This is beautiful, and it sounds simple, but in reality, loving God and our neighbors is not easy. It is complicated by the fact that human nature is fallen and corrupt. On our own, we are sinners who have lost the capacity to love as we should. 

This human condition means that love is not our first step. Our response to divine love must begin with repenting our lack of love followed by faith in God's love revealed in Jesus Christ. Without such faith, we are not really open to love. God's loving grace must first begin to transform us by creating faith in Him. Christian Faith then opens our hearts to love God in return. And as we begin to love God, we also begin to love our neighbors created by God. As Galatians 5:6 indicates, the core of the Christian life is "faith which worketh by love."

Trinity II- Worldly Hate- I John 3:13

The Epistle and Gospel for the Second Sunday after Trinity contain great theological themes such as love, mercy, and mission. However, this time I would focus on one verse with great practical wisdom for Christians. The selection from the Epistle, 1 John 3: 13 begins "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 

Many believers down through the centuries have appreciated the value of John's warning. They have known that the fallen world, sometimes even within the institutional church, opposes and indeed hates the Christian message and those who sincerely seek to live in accordance with the Gospel. Unfortunately, in recent centuries, many western Christians have forgotten this Biblical truth. They have accepted the two assumptions that most human beings are "nice" and that even worldly people are well-disposed toward the Christian message. From a Biblical perspective, such assumptions have never been accurate, and they apply even less to secularized societies that no longer accept generally Christian values. Believers need to be realistic. While we look for the good in others and strive to live peaceably, we must take the fallenness of humanity and the world seriously.

Most Christians prefer to be liked, but Jesus warns His followers repeatedly that He and they must be ready to face worldly hatred. In John 15:18-19, we read,  "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." The early Christians knew and accepted this teaching. Many Christians have become aware of it repeatedly throughout history. In secular and so-called post-Christian societies, we must all learn once more to take this Biblical teaching seriously. Loyalty to Jesus Christ means that we are not of the world, and the world does not react very nicely when rejected. Knowing this, we must be spiritually courageous and faithful!

St. Mary Magdalene- 22 July

Although not in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer, the commemoration of St. Mary Magdalene has been included in several Books of Common Prayer. It is also a "Black Letter Day" in the 1662 BCP. 

St. Mary Magdalene is a biblical saint who has sometimes been neglected while at other times she has been the subject of extravagant and even heretical legends and secular literature. The New Testament evidence about her is simple but important. She was one of several women named Mary (Maria, Maryam, or Miriam). Christ healed her from demonic afflictions (St. Luke 8:2), she became a loyal disciple and supporter (St. Luke 8:2-3), and she was present at the Crucifixion (St. Mark 15:40). She was also one of the first witnesses at the empty tomb (St. Mark 16:1; St. Matthew 28:1; St. John 20:1-2), and she was the first witness who encountered the risen Lord (St. John 20:11-18).

Some commentators, ancient and modern, have speculated that she was the same woman who anointed Jesus' feet in St. Luke 7:37-50, but this identification is not certain. There are many later stories about her that are doubtful, but the Eastern Orthodox tradition that Mary Magdalene eventually accompanied the Apostle John and the Virgin Mary to Ephesus is plausible.

Mary Magdalene exemplifies a number of Gospel themes. She is a notable example of the healing and redeeming power of Jesus Christ in human life, and she also shows a penitent, loving, and faithful response to His grace. May her example inspire us. May we likewise be open and responsive witnesses to Christ's power and grace!

Trinity XVIII- The Great Commandments- Matthew 22: 34-46

The Gospel for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity is from St. Matthew 22:34-46. These verses contain what seem to be two very distinctive interactions between Jesus Christ and the Pharisees. Yet, upon closer consideration, one can easily see why these two encounters belong together. The question and answer about the Great Commandments show the common heritage between Pharisaic Judaism and Jesus and His followers. Loving the Lord God comes first, immediately followed by loving one's neighbor. That is a significant agreement. 

However, such a general agreement is only part of the story There are still very important differences between Jesus and other religious leaders. There are underlying questions about who God is and who the neighbor is. In the second part of today's Gospel, Jesus raises the question about the nature of God and His work by speaking of the Messiah or Christ. Jesus refers to Psalm 110 to suggest to the Pharisees that the Messiah shares the divine nature, and they are at a loss for words. He uses principles of interpretation that they accept, but they cannot affirm what He implies.

In fact, Jesus highlights the great difference between all humanistic religions and the true Christian understanding of faith. The key issue is about the unique person and nature of Jesus the Christ. In other words, is Jesus Christ the divine Son of God, the eternal Word incarnate? If one follows Christ, the answer is yes, and that answer changes the underlying meaning of the two Great Commandments. If Jesus is who He says He is throughout the Gospels, loving the Lord God also means loving Jesus Christ and following Him. In addition, Christian faith changes the meaning of loving the neighbor. It means loving all people created in God's image, especially those who believe in Jesus Christ.

So let us avoid bland modernistic interpretations of the two Great Commandments. They are not merely broad encouragements to be nice or respectable. The Gospel gives the Commandments a Christian context. They are meant to be applied in light of Jesus' teachings and in light of Jesus' unique identity as the Son of God.

Sixth Sunday in Lent-Palm Sunday

Of course, in the popular mind, this is Palm Sunday. People like to recall this moment of external triumph. Jesus rides into Jerusalem to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah 9. By coming to King David’s city on a donkey, Jesus is making a Messianic claim. He is coming in humility and peace to begin His rule. And despite their confused ideas about the nature of Christ, many praise Him. Jesus is the Christ and receives the praise that He deserves. Like the ancient crowd, we tend to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment.

Unfortunately, many people who praised Jesus that day did not really understand Him. They did not sense what sort of king He was. So by the end of the week, many who praised Jesus turned on Him. Some would go from shouting “hosanna” to shouting “crucify him.” Even His closest disciples would flee in confusion and fear.

On that first Palm Sunday, Jesus was asking for spiritual and moral commitment, but the crowds were looking for other things. They were blinded by their physical, material, and worldly aspirations. Jesus Christ came to redeem people from their sins. He came to offer His life to deliver them from the power of evil. He came to conquer death, to rise again, to establish the kingdom of heaven, and to offer eternal life in God’s presence.

But most people, even would-be disciples, misunderstood. They were looking for Him to bring them temporal or worldly blessings. They mainly wanted things such as wealth, power, free food, healing, health, material comfort, external happiness, etc. And when they started to realize that He wasn’t that kind of king, their responses to Him started to change.

Many were confused or disappointed. And some were downright fickle and mean. They turned hostile. When He didn’t live up to their mistaken worldly ideals, they rejected Him and falsely accused Him.

Modern people, even many who say that they are Christians, are much like those first-century crowds. Many human beings continue to have poor understandings of redemption. We still look for false messiahs. We still misunderstand what kind of Messiah, what kind of king, Jesus is. We still try to make Him fit our personal preferences.

People still tend to focus on the material, physical and worldly aspects of Christ’s divine kingship. Yes, He knows that we are body and soul, and He cares about all aspects of human life. He asks His followers to care as well. He wants us to live in general safety and health with reasonable food, shelter, medical care, rest, and so on. But such matters are not His primary or ultimate concern for human beings. He is not a worldly king. He does not preach some sort of distorted prosperity or social gospel.

Instead, Christ’s main concerns are spiritual. He does care for our earthly lives, but He focuses more on our spiritual and eternal lives. He knows that there will always be earthly problems. He sees that there will always be crosses to bear in this world. And He wants people to respond to those crosses in ways that lead to resurrection and eternal life spent with Him, His heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit.

Our priorities should be spiritual and moral. Beginning with faith in Jesus as the Savior of our eternal souls, we respond in love- for God and for our neighbors. Many things can be included in these faithful responses. We do good deeds to the extent that we are physically and materially able. We support the church and charitable institutions. We study Scripture. But above all we love God, and we express that love spiritually in worship and in prayer.

Our love of God is also expressed by love for our neighbors, and not just in generally polite words or kind actions. We also love our neighbors by pointing them to Jesus Christ who alone can give their lives the deepest meaning and save their souls.

So during this Holy Week, let us seek to appreciate the kind of king that Jesus really is. Jesus Christ is a spiritual king who comes in humility and peace to establish His rule in our hearts, minds, and souls. He is a king who asks us to keep following Him even when the hymns of praise fade. He is a king who asks for our loyalty as He and we walk the way of the cross.

Jesus Christ certainly deserves our praise, our “hosannas.” He deserves praise more than anyone else. But the praise He wants is not just for the big events and celebrations. He wants our praise and our loyalty even on ordinary dull days. And He even asks for our praise and our loyalty on days, like Good Friday, when the honor and cheers of the crowd turn into rejection and jeers.

Palm Sunday has a dual aspect. It is a somber reminder of human blindness, disloyalty, and evil. It is also a joyful reminder that Jesus Christ is a spiritual king whose love, grace, and glory transcend human frailty. Even in the midst of suffering and death, even in a pandemic, the love and the grace of Christ Jesus continue undefeated. He triumphs through His cross and through all our little crosses.

To Him, with the Father and Holy Spirit, be all praise now and evermore! Amen.

Trinity I- "Love, Love, Love"

Many human beings over the centuries have talked and sung about love. Especially since the late 1960's, popular culture has included a lot of talking and singing about love. A characteristic example is John Lennon's “All You Need is Love.” And the churches have been influenced by this popular culture. Of course, Christians have always spoken of love, but much religious talk about love in recent decades has been far from Christian ideals.

Today in contrast to such popular nonsense, let us spend a few minutes thinking about some New Testament views of love. We begin by highlighting the beginning verses of our Epistle from I John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

In this passage, the Greek term used for “love” is agape'. In Christian Greek, this word for love became clearly distinct from eros, “desire” and philos, “brotherly love.” This kind of love has its source in God; it is an attribute of the divine nature. “God is love.” Divine Love is creative and unselfish.

Agape'  is not some naive and syrupy sentiment. It is not weak. It does not tolerate evil. It is powerful, holy, and righteous. It is not selfish but it reaches out to care for the universe and created beings. According to divine wisdom, God's love may be applied in differing ways according to the circumstances. It may lift up the humble and bring down the proud. Love may strengthen the faint-hearted and punish the sinful. Divine love means that God is concerned about the true well-being of the one loved. He cares about our souls and works for our salvation, even in the worst worldly circumstances.

The clearest indications that human beings have about divine love cannot be separated from the life and saving work of Jesus Christ. As He Himself told us in the Gospel of John, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The ultimate goal of love is salvation and eternal fellowship with God. We see this in Jesus. In love, He helped the poor and weak, and He rebuked the rich and proud. He chastised the self-righteous, and He forgave penitent sinners. He blessed those with even a trace of child-like faith in Him and His Father. And in love, He gave Himself over to suffering and death for all who would turn to Him in faith.

Divine love is always there, and God's creatures benefit from it before they are even aware. Love only asks one thing to start with: to accept it in faith. And once accepted, divine love should have results in our human lives. “..If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Although our particular expressions of love need wisdom, guidance, and concrete human expressions, true love does not start with us. It starts with God, especially in Christ, and asks us to respond. Because God first loves us, we love Him in response, and like Him, we love His creation and His creatures.

Like divine love, our love should be powerful, committed, and unselfish. Unlike God, however, we remain fallen and fallible. Sometimes, we do not love as we should. And even when we do love, we don't always do so with strength or wisdom. At times, we love naively or inappropriately. Sometimes, we may not be tolerant enough, or we may be too tolerant of the wrong things.
St Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:15 that we should speak “the truth in love.” We often have trouble keeping love and truth together in the best ways. When we speak the truth, we may not be very loving. And when we try to be loving, we may hesitate to speak the truth. Although Christians seek to be kind, there is a difference between being superficially polite and being loving. True love is more concerned about the long-term and eternal well-being of others than about their temporary and temporal comfort.

Therefore, let us heed Scriptural teachings about love. Let us avoid straying to the right or to the left. We must not avoid the danger of true divine love, and we must not substitute some cheap political tolerance or sentimental nonsense. If we must be foolish in loving, let it not be some worldly ways from the movie romances or political correctness. Rather if we are foolish, let it be the foolishness of the cross of Christ, the perfect love of God.