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.

Trinity II- Luke 14:16-23

In this week's Gospel from St. Luke 14:16-23, our Lord tells a parable about a feast. He uses the comparison of a feast to illustrate God's gracious invitation into His presence and the human tendency to resist and reject divine grace. Many of those invited to the feast despise the gracious host's hospitality and offer plausible-sounding excuses. The host knows that there are others who will gladly accept, and he promises that the ungrateful will not benefit from his hospitality.

Of course, the parable of the ungrateful guests is about redemption and the kingdom of heaven. Throughout history, and especially in our time, many people have rejected the offer of divine grace. They make all sorts of excuses, great and small. They always seem to have extenuating circumstances for every avoidance or rejection of God's invitation to fellowship with Him. However, by their excuses, they really harm themselves, not the divine host. 

God is the gracious host who takes the initiative. He invites us into fellowship with Him. If we refuse His grace, we may offend Him, but He can always find other guests who will be grateful. Every day and every week, God invites us to spend time with Him. He asks us to read and hear His Word and pray, both privately and publicly. He also invites us to the Lord's Supper. God wants us to accept His hospitality and fellowship with other guests, but we human beings are often ungrateful. We look for excuses to refuse divine grace and deprive ourselves of great blessings. So, let us examine ourselves and re-order our priorities while there is time. Let us accept the grace that God offers and respond in gratitude.

Trinity I- Luke 16:31

 This Sunday's Gospel from Luke 16:19-31 contains the Parable of the Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus.  (The rich man is sometimes called "Dives" from the Latin for "rich.") This passage brings us several themes, including the importance of compassion and the nature of the afterlife. In rereading the passage this week, another theme was noticeable. In Luke 16:31, the Gospel concludes, "And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 

This statement highlights the basic human spiritual and moral problem. God has created human beings to be spiritually and morally responsible. He expects them to love Him and their neighbors. In His mercy, God has provided and still provides revelations of His expectations. In nature, in the Mosaic Law, and in the prophets, the divine expectations are clear for those willing to see and hear. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has revealed His expectations even more clearly. Moreover, He has revealed the possibility of repentance, faith, pardon, and renewal after human failure. God offers redeeming grace. 

Unfortunately, human beings are often like the rich man in the parable. They ignore both divine expectations and divine grace. They persist in hardness of heart. They continue in their selfish sinfulness. Not only are they immoral, but they are also unspiritual. Their attitude is the central problem. They are not open to divine holiness, love, or grace. They have no transcendent faith. Their confidence is in themselves and their earthly status or possessions. And such hardened attitudes have eternal consequences.

Fortunately, such a sad state can be remedied. Sinful and selfish human beings are offered grace. In His mercy, God can change them and soften hardened hearts. With God, all things are possible. People can turn from sin, and faith can arise in unexpected ways. All humans (even a poor Lazarus) are sinners who can develop humble and faithful attitudes through the divine grace revealed in Jesus Christ. May we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to believe this good news!

Trinity I- Luke 16:19-31

The  Gospel for this First Sunday after Trinity is from St. Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. The rich man indulged himself and ignored the misery of the beggar at his gate. Eventually, he ended up dead and in torment. By contrast, the poor beggar lived humbly and ended up in paradise. The tormented rich man sought relief for himself and a miraculous warning for his brothers, but he was told that these things were impossible. His brothers would have to heed the guidance already offered through Moses and the prophets.

This parable should serve as a warning to all those who refuse to be spiritually and morally sensitive. God's basic expectations about how to live are clear for all who pay attention. Many great prophets and teachers through the centuries have proclaimed divine expectations. From nature, reason, Scripture, and Christian teaching, human beings have a general awareness that they should honor God and be merciful to their neighbors. We cannot earn our way into paradise, but people are responsible for their moral and spiritual responses to God, and these responses determine our destinies.

Unfortunately, each of us has times when we are spiritually and morally insensitive. We do not always think, speak, or act in accordance with God's will. So we need God's grace and mercy to renew us constantly. May God's grace and guidance available to us through the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel, open our hearts and help us to live mercifully as our Lord has shown us.

Trinity XX- Ephesians 5: 15-21; Matthew 22: 1-14

Years ago, I posted longer comments on the Epistle and the Gospel for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. This year, here are brief comments on the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel.

COLLECT- The thematic prayer for this Sunday goes back to a Latin version in the Gelasian Sacramentary, but the English translations of 1549, 1662, and 1789 modified it a little. The changes in the collect seem to have been for two reasons: to emphasize mercy and grace and to improve the English style. Christians are dependent upon God's bountiful goodness in order to avoid harmful things and to follow divine commands.                                                                                                              

EPISTLE- The selection from Ephesians 5:15-21 is part of a series of selections from this letter during the Trinity season. In general, all of these selections have a two-pronged emphasis: sound doctrine about Christ and His Church and a Christian way of life. These two points are not separate because as the Apostle teaches repeatedly, a truly Christian way of life is a result of basic beliefs about God's redeeming work in Christ. Ephesians 5:15 says, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise...." Here St. Paul begins an emphasis on wisdom. This is not some generic wisdom; it is the wisdom of the Christian walk or way of life. It stands in contrast to the general wisdom of the pagan world, which is really foolishness. The Christian wisdom that the Apostle promotes is based on the divine wisdom manifested in Jesus Christ. Walking in such wisdom, Christians will be "redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16). The world is fallen and corrupt, and Christians are to make the best use of the time. So in Ephesians 5:17, Paul exhorts,"Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." The way to true wisdom is not through some pagan philosophy or some mysterious cult; the way to true wisdom is to know and follow God's will revealed most fully in Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL- Matthew 22: 1-14. This is one of several passages that compare God's kingdom to a feast, in this case, a wedding feast for the king's son. This version is a little more elaborate than a similar story in St. Luke's Gospel. Noteworthy is the addition of the account of the unprepared guest in St. Matthew 22: 11-14:  "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." 

The whole passage is about people who do not respond properly to divine grace, and the final story is about an unappreciative response. The man accepts the King's invitation, but he does not bother to make appropriate preparations. However, although gracious, the King expects His guests to show respect, to be grateful, and to get ready. And anyone who does not respond respectfully is not allowed to remain in the King's presence; he cast out into the darkness. In a sense, this unworthy guest is expecting cheap grace, but God does not work that way. He expects our human responses to show our appreciation of His holy and gracious nature. Many are called, but chosenness is indicated in the response.