The Collect for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
O God, Who shows forth Your Almighty Power most principally in showing mercy and pity; Mercifully grant to us such a measure of Your Grace, that we, living according to Your Commandments, may obtain Your Gracious Promises, and be made partakers of Your Heavenly Treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to a child born at the wrong time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Holy Gospel of Luke 18:9-14
9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is from St Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthian Church, Chapter 15, Verses 1-11.
In this portion of his Epistle St Paul reinforces the vital importance and absolute truth of the Holy Gospel that had first been preached to the then, new, Christian Church at Corinth.
It may have been that the Corinthian Church had forgotten the essential points of the Holy Gospel or had not understood it completely.
St Paul passionately reminds the Corinthian Christians that the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only basis of their Salvation, and the Salvation of any person seeking to please God by trust in, and obedience to, His Holy Commandments:
“1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
Under the Old Testament Law of Moses a believer was required to vigorously strive to obey the great number of “do’s and don’ts” prescribed in faith and worship under the Mosaic Code.
Of course no Jewish person could obey all of the Law of Moses, throughout all the days of their life, so forgiveness for sin was sought and obtained, albeit on a yearly basis, through the sacrifice of animals at the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting) and later in the Temple.
During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus summed up all of the Old Testament Law and its obligations and re-interpreted them very succinctly, as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Mark 12:28-31,
"28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“29The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The Lord Jesus, towards the end of His Earthly Ministry, gave His Disciples a new commandment, recorded in the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 13, Verses 34-35:
“34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Our Epistle Reading continues with St Paul summarizing the core of the Holy Gospel as he vigorously declares that, in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the Lord Jesus:-
Was crucified and died (to pay the price of our sin).
Was buried for 3 days (It was then certain that the Lord Jesus was dead).
Was resurrected from the dead (returned to life).
Appeared (physically alive) to His Disciples and many other people:
"3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve."
"6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,"
St Paul then declares that the Lord Jesus, lastly, appeared to him on the road to Damascus.
St Paul likens himself to a child born after the events surrounding the Lord Jesus had taken place, and the forms of Worship and Prayer, within the fledgling Christian Church, were in the process of being developed.
"8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to a child born at the wrong time."
In a sense St Paul had missed the main events, however the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to him and brought him “up to speed,” so to say. St Paul was instructed in greater detail by meeting and speaking with other Christian believers after his conversion from a zealous Pharisee, set on destroying this new movement and it’s teaching, to a new believer.
Before his conversion St Paul, then known as Saul, was a zealous Pharisee (teacher of the Law) and a great persecutor of the early Christians. He was on his way to Damascus, with letters of authority from the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, to seek out, and arrest Jewish followers of the Lord Jesus, and take them back to Jerusalem for punishment.
The wonderful account of Saul’s conversion is found in the Book of the Acts of The Apostles Chapter 9 Verses 1-19:
9 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened.
St Paul then declared that he was not worthy to be called an Apostle, because he persecuted the young Christian Church, however, he went on to say that by the Grace of God “I am what I am”, and that because of God’s great mercy shown to him by forgiving his sins and choosing him to preach to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people), he worked harder than most of those who believed in the Lord Jesus:
“9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
St Paul’s Pharisee training would have no doubt enabled him to relate much quicker and more in depth to the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus and it’s meaning and significance to both Jews and Gentiles.
St Paul revealed that it was the indwelling Holy Spirit, and not his own efforts, that empowered him to undertake his missionary work.
Our Epistle Reading closes with St Paul telling the Corinthian Christians that it did not matter from whom they heard the Holy Gospel, it is the Eternal Truth of what was preached, and that is what they believed.
St Paul’s closing statement implies a strong exhortation to hold fast to the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the Corinthian Christians had originally received and believed, so that they are not led astray by false teaching.
"11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed."
Let us always give thanks to our Loving God for His conversion of St Paul, and using him mightily to proclaim the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, in word, and in writing so that we, in this current day and age, have a first hand account of the works of the Lord Jesus and are able to grow in faith and truth, so that we may faithfully proclaim the Holy Gospel to others who are in the grip of Satan. Amen.
Today's Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 18, Verses 9-14.
In this portion of his Holy Gospel St Luke tells of the Lord Jesus' address to a group of men (probably Pharisees), who trusted in their own righteousness:
“9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector”.
The Lord Jesus contrasted the attitude and actions of two very different Jewish worshipers, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector:
“11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.”
The Pharisees were a Jewish religious party (much like a modern political party), made up of highly educated middle class businessmen, and together with the Sadducees (the Jewish aristocracy) they comprised the ruling class of Israel.
The Pharisees were the minority faction within the 70 seat Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council).
The Pharisees could be described as the more religious minded party of the Sanhedrin while the Sadducees were the more political minded party.
The Sadducees had a greater number of their party serving as priests in the daily worship of the Jewish Temple.
The Sadducees, while having a general belief in God and His Holy Scriptures did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and an afterlife. This confused belief is shown by the Sadducees' question to the Lord Jesus recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 22, Verses 23-32:
23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
The Sadducee’s denial of a spiritual world which included Angels and demons, is again revealed during St Pauls' appearance before the Sanhedrin, recorded in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 23, Verses 6-8:
"6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)"
The Sadducees worked hard to keep the peace with Rome, the occupation force, and master of Israel, during the time of the Lord Jesus.
Because the Sadducees were more concerned with politics then religion, they were unconcerned with the preaching of the Lord Jesus until His Ministry threatened to attract greater scrutiny from Rome.
Unlike the Sadducees, the Pharisees were held in high esteem by the common people of Israel, as they mixed daily with the people, while engaged in commerce, and teaching the scriptures in the Temple.
Some Pharisees were very good men who were devoted to their faith and showed love and kindness to the ordinary people. Other Pharisees were not so inclined and were regarded by the people as hypocrites.
The tax collectors, of the Lord Jesus’ time, were Jewish men who were employed, or contracted, by senior Roman taxation officials (who often commanded military force) to physically collect the taxes levied, by Rome, upon the nation of Israel.
The tax collectors were permitted to keep a small fraction of the tax collected as their wage.
Human nature, being tainted by sin, meant that often the tax collectors collected more than they were entitled to collect and so the amount they retained as their wage often rose to a great sum.
It is no wonder that the tax collectors, of Jesus’ time, were regarded by the people as traitors doing Rome’s dirty work, cheats, liars and extortioners, preying on, and fleecing the people.
As a consequence of their dishonest behaviour the tax collectors were despised and shunned by the people.
The Lord Jesus’ requirements for the tax collectors who came to be baptized are recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 3, Verses 12-13:
"12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them."
The conversion of the tax collector, Zacchaeus, and his response to the Lord Jesus’ command is recorded in The Holy Gospel of St Luke in Chapter 19, Verses 8-10:
19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The Lord Jesus’ response is a most wonderful declaration and must have brought much joy to Zacchaeus and his family.
In our Holy Gospel Reading, the Pharisee and the tax collector could not have been further apart, socially, in the minds of the Lord Jesus’ hearers.
The Lord Jesus tells us that the Pharisee was self-content and proud of his righteousness, and thanked God that he was not like other men whom he regarded as the scum of the earth:
"11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’"
The Pharisee was and arrogant and trusted in his own righteousness and not the Forgiveness and Mercy of God.
The tax collector, on the other hand, recognised his many sins, and his total lack of merit in God’s sight. He would not even dare to lift his head but rather hung it in shame and beat his chest, as a sign of sorrow and anxiety, calling on God for Mercy:
“13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!”
The tax collector displayed a reverent faith in God’s Promise to forgive repentant sinners, whereas the Pharisee displayed an arrogant pride in his own character and achievements.
The end result of this story is that God accepted the tax collector’s repentance and forgave his sin, but the Pharisee was not forgiven and his sin of pride and arrogance remained:
"14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
May God Bless these readings to us, and give us Grace to always forgive those who sin against us, and trust, not in our own righteousness, but in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, for Salvation from our sin, and Adoption by God, as His Sons and Daughters, and so Heirs of His Eternal Kingdom.
Bishop Ian