6.24

Reception

[Pass out pamphlets]

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Readings/Lessons

Old Testament Lesson

A reading from the Old Testament, the Prophet Hosea, the 5th chapter,

Isaiah 2:10–11, 17 “Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty. The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low, and the pride of everyone shall be humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day… The haughtiness of people shall be humbled, and the pride of everyone shall be brought low; and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”

The Word of the Lord,

Thanks be to God.

New Testament Lesson

A reading from the New Testament, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, the 4th chapter,

Romans 6:1–11 “What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

The Word of the Lord,

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Reading

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, According to St. Matthew,

Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Matthew 10:34, 38–42 “'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword… Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.'”

The Word of the Lord,

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Exposition/Sermon

Bluntness, forthrightness, candor—that is where we begin our sermon today. In other words, honesty. We just passed Father’s Day this last Sunday, and like a father to a son, they are there to give us love and teach us lessons. So too do we have a Father in heaven, in which we offer our praise and thanksgiving, not just for and because of His love for us, but because of the ways he guides and teaches us to be more like Him, to deny our human nature and unite with Him through Christ His Son and our lead.

And so does the Preacher in Ecclesiastes speak of a “time to plant and a time to uproot… a time to tear and a time to mend… a time for war and a time for peace.” So do our lessons today remind us of both the love of Christ and His role as our model, teacher, and unifier.

Yet it must be noted that the seeming strictness or bluntness of today’s lessons, they are not aimed at us. As a Father aims his punishment not on their son for being their son, but in properly rearing them, such that justice is served, lessons are learned, due and proper.

The philosopher Plato opines not to “train a child to learn by force or harshness [but to] direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” A proper Christian appraisal would take a further step back, that what Christ does in his actions has nothing to do with force against us, but rather destroys that which distracts our minds, in the hope that we would be amused by His great glory. For nothing can be better than what is eternal and everlasting. Thus, evil will never win in the divine drama, and the divine proceeds infinitely.

Thus we shall be made infinite by the denial of our flesh. The prophet Isaiah, foretelling the future of the Jewish people and their idolatry, speaks of the glory of His majesty reigning through, a Messiah, a Christ, to come. The eyes of those high and mighty and their pride will be humbled as the Lord is exalted. Thus, St. Paul, after experiencing Christ post-resurrection, argues for the exaltation of Christ in our sacrifice of praise and humility. Done by the works of loving our neighbor, carrying our cross, following Him, trusting Him, and denying all that which is haughty or prideful. In this “month of Pride” we reject that which St. Augustine refers to as the “beginning of sin,” as Adam and Eve’s great sin, of believing ourselves higher than the Lord. And similarly, to other, of believing ourselves to be too downtrodden or broken to receive the Lord. Pride works both ways. We are humbled in our thinking highly of ourselves, and humbled in our thinking lowly of ourselves. Christ draws us into perfect humility by His actions, deeds, and teachings.

On R.: From St. Hilary of Poitiers on Paul: “Paul attributes death to sin, i.e., to our body, but life to God, to whose nature it belongs that he lives, so that we must die to our body in order to live in Christ Jesus. While assuming the body of our sin, Christ already lives wholly for God, since he has united the nature that he shared with us in a mutual participation in the divine immortality”

On R.: From St. Augustine: “To be baptized into the death of Christ is nothing else but to die to sin, just as he died in the flesh.”

On Mt.: From St. Chrysostom: “What sort of peace is it that Jesus asks them to pronounce upon entering each house? And what kind of peace is it of which the angels sing, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace”? And if Jesus came not to bring peace, why did all the prophets publish peace as good news? Because this more than anything is peace: when the disease is removed. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. Thus it was also in the case of the tower of Babel, that their evil peace was ended by their good discord. Peace therefore was accomplished”

Collect for Proper 8

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be so peaceable ordered by your providence, that your Church may joyfully serve you in quiet confidence and godly peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Benediction

Let us end tonight in a benediction, from the words of St. Paul,

1 Corinthians 16:23–24 “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

Go in peace to love in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.