Proper 10A
Ai Khawng
After Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted
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Nalae notes:
Nocent says that the OT comments on the Gospel in that it shows that the Word of God will accomplish what it is sent to do. In Matthew, we see that only one of the four soils produces a harvest and that is good enough. That is actually very good news. So we mustn't focus on the three soils that don't. God and the Holy Spirit are gentlemen and they will not barge through "the door" and violate our free wills.
From TH215 Trinitarian Theology - Peter Leithart (3)
BCP Rom 8.8-17 Don't live by sarx - reiterated but that's a 1-7 theme) you have life, live by the Spirit's dictates, we are God's children, his heirs (generally but also of God's glory)
LM Rom 8.18-23 Future Glory
LCMS Lectionary Summary:
OT: same
Epistle: RCL reads Rom 8.1-11 and L vss 12-17. The first five verses will never be read otherwise, so go with RCL, and the L part (most of it) is read on Pentecost C anyway.
Gospel 122, 124: same
The Preaching of the Word of Christ Bears the Good Fruits of Faith and Love
As “the rain and the snow come down from heaven” and “water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout” (Is. 55:10), so the Word of God accomplishes the purpose for which He speaks it, granting joy and peace through the forgiveness of sins and producing the fruits of faith and love in those who are called by His name. Christ Jesus, the incarnate Word, has established the name of the Lord as “an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Is. 55:13). He opens our ears to hear, our minds to understand and our hearts to believe His Word, lest the evil one come and snatch it away. He thus transforms our rocky hearts into good soil, which clings to the Gospel and “indeed bears fruit” (Matt. 13:23). He is Himself the firstfruits of all who “have received the Spirit of adoption as sons” (Rom. 8:15). Thus being “led by the Spirit of God,” we are not afraid, but we cry out in faith to our Father in heaven (Rom. 8:14–15). For as we suffer with Christ, the beloved Son, so shall we “also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17).
Summary: The Efficacious Word
Hymn of the Day: 577 Almighty God, Your Word is cast
Liturgy:
Summary: Rain and snow from Isa, rain and harvest from Psa, seed and harvest from Mat. From Nocent, we see that the Epistle doesn't really connect but this psalm does because it connects to the rain and snow reference in Isaiah. It may not connect to the Gospel directly, but it does with Isaiah standing in the middle. So whereas in Mat we have the Parable of the Sower, which focuses on the soil, the three enemies of the seed, the sower; Isa-Psa are about the rain. If the Word is like rain in Isa, the Word is like seeds in Mat. So we can't stretch the symbolism too much. Rain of course is necessary for the seeds of Mat to sprout and grow.
Isa 55.10-13
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. “For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.”
The great invitation
Rain and snow. Larry L. Walker (CBC 2005) says this chapter follows 54 itself built on 53 which is built on 40-52. He says “what God offers is...the gift of God himself” which makes sense, this isn’t about physical eating and drinking. When we are hungry and thirsty, He fulfills that, when we need something done (vss 10-13) his word does that.
Psa 65.9-13 (1-8 optional)
Thou visitest the earth and waterest it, thou greatly enrichest it; the river of God is full of water; thou providest their grain, for so thou hast prepared it. Thou waterest its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. Thou crownest the year with thy bounty; the tracks of thy chariot drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Praise for abundant provisions
Futato in CBC says that praise is appropriate especially as part of the fulfilling of vows. And the third section, is the one we read today with the title above.
Rom 8.1-11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although your bodies are dead because of sin, your spirits are alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Living by the power of God’s Spirit
The BCP has 8-17 so this reading cuts at a different place, not 7 but 11. And 11 is not weird either since it's another ¶ break.
CBC (Roger Mohrlang 2007) says that since Rom 3.21 we are hearing about God’s amazing salvation. The facet of that we study today is the gift of the Spirit, which Mohrlang says gives us power over sin, something you wouldn’t be so sure of since Paul had just spoken/written in chapter 7 about not being able to be free from sin.
Mat 13.1-9, 18-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Parable of the Sower
Tell people about the chiastic form of Matthew, ABCDEDCBA where E is chapter 13 and the central core, which is what we read today
David Turner, in CBC (2005), notes that this is Jesus’ third major discourse in the book, the others being the Sermon on the Mount (5-7) and the second in10 (choosing the twelve, sending them out on mission). Like many preachers and interpreters, Turner says it is more about the soil than the sower. Finally, the parable gives the reason many reject Jesus’ message or at least don’t stick with it.
the middle part which answers the question, "Lord, why do you speak in parables" "So that they won't see." (the Isa reference) is cut out. But it works well. Rather than have that thought interrupt the parable, the congregation and the preacher just have to concern themselves with the sower parable.