Video and sermon for the Wednesday of the 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Video of Divine Service 

Wednesday of Pentecost 16

Collect of the Day: O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Epistle on this Wednesday of the 16^th Sunday after Pentecost is from Galatians, the fifth chapter.      (Galatians 5:25-6:10)

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 6 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ² Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.³ For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴ But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. ⁵ For each will have to bear his own load. ⁶ Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. ⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. This is the Word of the Lord. 

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. 

 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the sixth chapter.    (Matthew 6:24-34)

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 money. ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Sermon:  O Lord, your Word is lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

When the Apostle Paul invoked the imagery of sowing and reaping, it brought to mind a passage from a book I recently read. Michael Harris was an English major in college and somehow managed to make it all the way to his senior year without having to memorize poems or portions of Shakespeare’s plays. It was in his class on John Milton that he was presented with the task of memorizing a portion of Paradise Lost. As this was not a familiar or developed skill for him, he visited with the Professor to inquire why the class had to do this. In the course of their conversation, the professor said this: 

“There is a slightly corny saying that has a lot to do with it: sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny. And I believe that memorizing something is the sowing of a thought.” 

The progression of thought here speaks to a truth that Jesus addresses in the Sermon on the Mount. Your thought, your perception of what is most important to you, is going to lead to actions. These actions will develop into habits which will shape your character and destiny. 

In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out two thoughts. “No one can serve two masters. …. You cannot serve God and money.” By money, Jesus is referring to “the world.” When people look at the world and their place in it without God, they will see only material things. The standard of happiness and fulfillment is going to be centered on material things. The accumulation of wealth is not only what goes into the bank account, but also the material markers of wealth such as clothes, property, transportation, influence, etc. The accumulation of more leads to worry and anxiety. One is left with the sinking feeling that there is never enough. There is always one more item, one more experience, to purchase and add to the proverbial bucket list. 

So, one thought that is sown is that all that matters in life is material goods and possessions. This thought reaps an abundance of anxiety and unhappiness. This leads to habits and character and a destiny that is different than what God intends for his human creation. For there is no interest in communing with and worshiping the God who creates, sustains, and saves us. Nor is there a concern for a life to come. Life is all about the here and now. 

Jesus sows the thought that faith in God and his sacrifice on the cross leads to a richer, fuller, joyous life. Awareness that life is more than the material and that God created a world that is both material and spiritual, reaps different actions, habits, character, and destiny. For example, we learn to be patient and content, we value people generally and our community of brothers and sisters in Christ in particular. Through the act of worship, we acknowledge that God is greater than us and that all that He has given to us is to be cherished. In the practice of giving and receiving love and forgiveness, our compassion and empathy are enlarged. Material goods are essential, but they are not pleasurable unless they can be shared with our community.  

When we confess that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is our master, our thoughts, imagination, and choices are decidedly different.  In faith, we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting that the Lord provides for us. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.