The Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity
O God, without You we are unable to please You; Mercifully grant, that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct, and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle, Ephesians 4:17-32
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The Holy Gospel of St Matthew 9:1-8
9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
So he said to the paralysed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 4, verses 17-32.
St Paul begins this portion of today’s reading with an emphatic command that the Ephesian Christians must not continue to live as the Gentiles (non-Jews) do, in futility of thought:
“17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.”
The expression “futility of their thinking” means depraved reason.
Depraved reason is the result of the Gentiles’ immoral way of life resulting from their corrupt spiritual outlook and ignorance, and, or, rejection of the Holy Gospel.
Without the Light of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, given by the Holy Spirit, the Gentiles had no absolute Truth to which they could anchor their spiritual lives:
“18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”
The Greek and Roman world of the First Century AD was ruled by idolatry, and the result was the pursuit of pleasure, both on an individual level and on a community level.
The false gods of Greece and Rome in many instances encouraged their worshipers, through their priests and priestesses, to indulge in all manner of debauched activity to celebrate the worship of a particular god.
Many false religions featured temple prostitutes who would celebrate the worship, of the false deity, by carousing with the worshipers, in exchange for donations or gifts which would flow into that particular false religion’s coffers.
St Paul tells us that Gentiles are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of (the true) God because of the ignorance they have in them. They have depraved powers of reason due to the hardening of their hearts. This in turn leads to an abandonment of all restraint and the handing over of themselves to sensuality, and allowing themselves to be full of greed.
The use of the term “ignorance” (Verse 18) does not mean a lacking of knowledge but rather a deliberate refusal of mind to know the One True God and honour Him by accepting the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
St Paul’s use of the term “greed” (verse 19) as translated from the Greek, is associated with immoral ways and means the intellectual trigger and driving thought to seek gratification from every kind of immorality.
St Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians that this sinful and immoral life is not what they had learned from the teaching they had initially received from St Paul and other Christian missionaries:
“20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”.
The new Ephesian converts were told to put off their old ways and to consider their former lives as buried with the Lord Jesus. They were told to walk from henceforth as those who had put on a “new self.”
This “new self” means the God given, via the Holy Spirit, clothing of oneself with the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This honours the Lord Jesus and greatly pleases God the Father.
St Paul then gives the Ephesians the following exhortations to ensure that the new believer’s behaviour conforms to the expectations of the Lord Jesus:
“25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.”
“28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”
“29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
In Verses 30-31 St Paul declares a very important truth about the nature of the Holy Spirit in that he assumes that the Holy Spirit is the beloved Third Person of the Blessed Holy Trinity:
“30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
Many cults, claiming to be Christian, do not accept the personality of the Holy Spirit but believe that He is merely the impersonal power that God employs to accomplish His work.
Nothing could be further from the Truth!
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Holy Trinity and can be grieved, and can rejoice with the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father.
It is the Holy Spirit who has “sealed us” (Verse 30) as the adopted sons and daughters of God.
St Paul concludes our Epistle Reading with a command to the Ephesians to show Love and Forgiveness to one another as the Lord Jesus showed Love and Forgiveness to all Who encountered Him:
“32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Our relationship with the Lord Jesus will be revealed in all its Glory and Splendour when the Lord Jesus returns, a second time, on the Day of Judgement, to usher in the Everlasting Kingdom of God.
These commands of Verses 25-32 are the blueprint for a Godly life that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
May God give to us all, Grace through the Holy Spirit, to put away all evil and vile things, and to continue in the life that began when we first received, and believed, through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 9, Verses 1-8.
In this portion of his Holy Gospel St Matthew tells us of the Lord Jesus’ encounter with a paralysed man who had been brought to Him by a group of men, when He came to His own town (Capernaum).
On meeting with the paralysed man, the the Lord Jesus healed him:
“1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralysed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
The men mentioned in the narrative, may have been relatives, or friends of the paralysed man, and they had obviously heard of the Lord Jesus’ power to heal the sick.
When the Lord Jesus saw the paralysed man and the men who had brought him, He immediately recognised their faith which had led them to seek His aid for their friend.
The Lord Jesus said to the paralysed man “take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.”
As was usual throughout the Lord Jesus’ public ministry, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were not far away, listening to every word spoken in order to issue a word of condemnation or bring any possible charge against the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus, as always, was many steps ahead of the Pharisees and their followers, and this occasion was no exception. He declared to the paralysed man that his sins were forgiven.
Immediately some of the teachers of the Law said that the Lord Jesus was speaking blasphemy (mocking, cursing, or insulting God):
“3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
The Lord Jesus, knowing their thoughts, asked them why they thought this of Him:
“4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
To declare that the paralysed man’s sins were forgiven was much easier to say and it did not require a physical effort, or proof, of a change in the man’s circumstances.
Forgiveness of sins can be granted with no outward sign by the person forgiven, as the changed status is in the heart and mind, and that is what is noted by God.
To say “get up and walk” required a physical response from the paralysed man and so obviously to pronounce his sins forgiven was the easier choice.
The Lord Jesus had spoken the words “your sins are forgiven” so that not only would the man be healed, but so that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law would know that the Lord Jesus was the “Son of Man” (a strong Messianic Title) and that He had the Authority of God (the Lord Jesus being God incarnate) to forgive sins on earth.
Following this revelation to the Pharisees, teachers of the Law, and the crowd who had gathered to see and hear the Lord Jesus, He commanded the paralysed man to rise up, pick up his mat and go home:
“So he said to the paralysed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home.”
At this the command the paralysed man rose, took up his mat and went home.
On seeing this miracle unfold before them, the crowd was filled with amazement and praised God:
“8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”
The Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Proper (Righteous) Man Who, having God as His Father, inherited no sin from the first man Adam, and Who never committed any actual sin during His Earthly Life.
The Lord Jesus was God in the Flesh and so He spoke and acted as God.
Just as Adam (the first man) sinned, he became the “old man” whereby sin entered the human race and stained all men and women, so the Lord Jesus is the “Proper (Righteous) Man” Who takes away the penalty of sin for all believers.
It is in the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus that we are clothed, by faith, and have put off the “old man” and have passed from death to Life.
May God Bless this Reading to us and give us comfort and peace, knowing that our sins are forgiven, and that clothed in the Lord Jesus’ Holy Righteousness, through Faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and that Faith being Gifted to us by the Mighty Holy Spirit, we need not fear any evil or hardship. Amen.
Bishop Ian