,The Collect for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Grant to us, Lord, we implore You, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right; that we, who cannot do anything that is good without You, may by You, be enabled to live according to Your Will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
The Holy Gospel of Luke 16:1-9
16 Jesus said to his disciples:
A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. 2 So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”
3 The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can’t dig ditches, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I’ve lost my job.”
5 Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”
6 “A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write fifty.”
7 The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand bushels of wheat,” the man replied.
The manager said, “Take your bill and write eight hundred.”
8 The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.
9 My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 10, Verses 1-13.
This portion of St Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthian Church is a very blunt, to the point, no holds barred, message to the Christians at Corinth.
It is also a very important message to all Christians today. St Paul warns the Corinthians:
“10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
Many members of the Corinthian Church were sliding back into their old ways and were dabbling in idol worship and associated practices. Such practices included feasting on food sacrificed to idols, joining in festivities connected with idol worship and worse still participating in immoral behaviour that characterised much of the pagan worship of idols.
As an example, the temple to the goddess Venus had over a thousand temple prostitutes, with whom the worshipers would engage in sexual relations, in exchange for gifts of money, and other valuable items.
This payment for services was then given to the pagan temple priests.
In his warning to the Corinthian Church St Paul draws extensively from the Old Testament description of the departure (Exodus) of the people of Israel, under Moses’ leadership, from 400 years bondage (slavery) in Egypt.
This Exodus of Israel from Egypt took place around 1,450 years before the coming of the Lord Jesus.
To understand St Paul's warning to the Corinthians it is necessary to understand God's dealings with the people of ancient Israel.
Moses was called by God, Whose Angel appeared as fire in a bush, and told Moses that he had been chosen, by God, to lead God’s people out of their 400 year bondage (slavery) to the Pharaohs in Egypt, and then to lead them across the desert, and finally into the land (Canaan), that God had promised to give Abraham, and his descendants, forever.
This journey by Israel would eventually take around 40 years and was known as the “wandering in the wilderness”period. God had punished the generation of Israelites, who commenced the journey, for their disobedience to His Law and lack of thankfulness to Him for their deliverance, and His ongoing sustenance of them. St Paul further warned the Corinthians:
“6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.”
That generation of Israelites, who angered God, would never enter the Promised Land.
It is these particular events, that occurred during Israel’s 40 year journey, that St Paul refers to in this section of our Epistle Reading.
God provided comfort and protection to His people, during their journey, by creating a pillar of cloud that covered them by day, shielding the people from the heat of the desert sun, and at night the same pillar of cloud became a pillar of fire that gave light to guide Israel as they traveled by night. This miraculous event is recorded in the Old Testament Book of Exodus Chapter 13, Verses 20-22:
“20 After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
When Pharaoh and the Egyptian nobles realised that in letting the captives go they had lost their slave labour, and that their economy would greatly suffer, the Egyptian army was dispatched in hot pursuit to bring the Israelite slaves back to bondage. This pursuit is recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapter 14, Verse 5-9:
"5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon."
When the Israelites reached the shore of the Red Sea (some scholars suggest it was the sea of reeds) the Egyptian army was almost upon them. Both the Israelites and the pursuing Egyptian army made camps.
God transformed the cloud so that by day it was a pillar of fire that prevented the Egyptians from approaching the Israelites. By night the cloud gave light to the Israelites, but showed darkness to the Egyptians. This is recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapter 14, Verses 19-20:
"19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long."
The following day the God performed a great miracle by parting the Red Sea, which allowed the Israelites to cross on dry land, with the sea, a wall, on either side.
The Egyptians followed Israel into the parted sea, but God closed the waters on them and they were destroyed. This great Judgement of God on Pharaoh is recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapter 14, Verses 21-31:
“21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”
“23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
“26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.”
“29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."
St Paul also tells us, in Verse 2 of our Epistle Reading, that the people of Israel were baptised (bonded to) Moses by the cloud and the miraculous parting of the sea, by God, allowing Israel to cross in safety.
During the entire journey God gave the people of Israel miraculous food from Heaven (Manna), which was a grain-like substance that appeared each morning on the ground like frost and was scooped up and ground into flour, and then baked into bread.
This miracle was multi-faceted in that God gave them this food every day of their journey and although it did not store overnight (no fridges in those days) it did not spoil overnight on a Sabbath Day (God’s Day of Rest, 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday) so the people of Israel had unspoiled Manna on Sundays.
God also miraculously provided water, that essential element of life, for His people on two occasions, at Sinai and at Kadesh.
At Sinai, God commanded Moses to strike a rock with his hand-staff. When Moses struck the rock, a spring of fresh water began to gush from the rock, and provided refreshment for all the people and their flocks of animals.
The term “rock” may have literally referred to a capping stone or some other stone that surrounded a well head. The rock travelled with the Israelites and was set up at each encampment.
Despite seeing these miracles of Manna and Water, many of the Israelites grumbled and felt they had been better off in Egypt where they had better food and constant water supply.
At Kadesh, about eighteen months later Moses was commanded by God to assemble the elders and people before the rock, and to speak reverently, with faith, to the rock so that it would release water to refresh the people and their flocks of animals.
Moses did not do exactly as God had commanded but rather Moses struck the rock, twice, with his staff, and water flowed. God was not pleased with Moses’ lack of obedience to His exact command to speak to the rock.
Some scholars suggest that Moses preferred a more dramatic way of producing water and so displayed a lack of faith in God’s Word.
For this lack of faith God punished Moses by forbidding him to enter the Promised Land. Moses was only permitted to see the Promised Land from a high place on the border of the land.
St Paul tells us that the key to understanding this miracle of the water is to know that the Rock that travelled with the people of Israel, to refresh them, was the Lord Jesus Christ. The Rock is the presence and power of God, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must remember that the Lord Jesus had not, at this time, taken on flesh and blood, but was rather the Eternal Living Word of God, who dwelt in heaven with His Father and the Mighty Holy Spirit.
Despite all the miracles of deliverance, the parting of the sea and the provision of food and water the Israelites soon forgot God’s generous provisions and fell back into their old evil lives that they enjoyed in Egypt.
When Moses went up into Mount Sinai, to meet God and receive His Law, the people fell into old ways because Moses was away for a long time. The people asked Moses’ brother Aaron to create a golden calf so that they could feast, and sacrifice to it, and worship it with immoral revelry as recorded in the Book of Exodus Chapter 32, Verses 1-35:
“1When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”
“2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
“5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
“7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’”
“9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
“11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.”
“15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets”
“17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
“19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.”
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
“22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
“25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.”
“27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”
“30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
“31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written. 33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
“35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.”
In the closing portion of our Epistle Reading St Paul paints a sad, condemning picture of the result of Israel’s sins. This disaterous result could also be applicable to the Corinthian Christian’s sins, and also in the present day, to our sins:
“6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”
“8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.”
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
St Paul warned the church at Corinth, and also warns us, and all future readers of his Epistle, to be vigilant and not to backslide and live in the ways of our old evil natures, forgetting God’s Gracious Gifts given to all of us, each day of our lives.
St Paul concludes our Epistle Reading by reminding us that God is always ready to forgive us our sins, and will always help us to withstand all temptation without surrendering ourselves completely to its inevitable fatal result:
"13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
The means whereby we can escape the wrath of God is by being Clothed in the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We obtain this Holy Righteousness by believing with all our heart and soul, in His Mighty Work of Redemption on the Cross of Calvary.
This is the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us ask God to keep us from backsliding into evil deeds, and give us His Blessing to live our lives always seeking to please Him.
When any of us fall into sin, as we are bound to do continually, as human beings, until God ushers in His Glorious Kingdom, we must immediately confess our sin to God, so that He will forgive us through the Holy Gospel of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us also always thank our Loving God for providing the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to Clothe us in the Holy Righteousness of His Beloved Son so that we may be forgiven and be made His Adopted Children and Heirs of His Eternal Kingdom. Amen.
Today's Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 16, Verses 1-9.
In this portion of his Holy Gospel St Luke tells us of the Lord Jesus’ story to His Disciples about the dishonest steward who had negligently managed his master’s estate so that the master’s money and goods were wasted:
"16 Jesus said to his disciples:
A rich man once had a manager to take care of his business. But he was told that his manager was wasting money. 2 So the rich man called him in and said, “What is this I hear about you? Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.”
The master was told about the activity of his manager, and confronts him and orders the manager to give an account (undergo an audit) of his activity and stewardship of the master’s estate and, at the same time, informing the manager that he is going to be fired.
The manager thought about the consequences of being unemployed. He was not strong enough to dig and was ashamed to beg on the streets:
"3 The manager said to himself, “What shall I do now that my master is going to fire me? I can’t dig ditches, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I’ve lost my job.”
Facing these daunting prospects, the manager quickly developed what is nowadays known as an exit strategy:
"5 Then one by one he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, “How much do you owe my master?”
6 “A hundred barrels of olive oil,” the man answered.
So the manager said, “Take your bill and sit down and quickly write fifty.”
7 The manager asked someone else who was in debt to his master, “How much do you owe?”
“A thousand bushels of wheat,” the man replied.
The manager said, “Take your bill and write eight hundred.”
The manager called the master’s debtors in one by one and ascertained exactly what they owed and told each one to alter his particular document to show a lower debt.
This would have no doubt pleased the master’s clients.
If our bank manager told us to alter our mortgage documents to show our mortgages reduced from $500,000 to $250,000, I’m sure we would be most pleased, and we would be happy to do the bank manager a favour in return.
In the Gospel story the dishonest manager hopes that by providing a reduced debt for the master’s clients, they, in return, may offer him a position in their business.
The master found out about the steward’s plans and praised him for his quick thinking in developing and implementing his plan:
"8 The master praised his dishonest manager for looking out for himself so well. The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light."
The dishonest manager was still fired but like many modern executives, who are dismissed from one company, they turn up in another company.
The Lord Jesus uses this story to illustrate that the non Christian business people of this world (non- believers) often show more business sense and initiative than people of faith.
It is a sad fact that many fine Christian people fall victim to worldly confidence tricksters, and other rogues, as Christian believers do not think at the same evil speed, and on the same level as villains do.
The Lord Jesus urges all believers, and that includes us, to use the wealth of this world to do the Work of God in proclaiming the Holy Gospel, so that friends (more believers) can be made (saved). When the wealth of the world disappears, on God’s Day of Judgement we will be welcomed by the Lord Jesus into an Eternal Home in God’s Kingdom.
"9 My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home."
May the Lord Jesus bless and keep us from all harm in our dealings with all people, both believers and non-believers, and help us to be faithful and honest in our dealings, that we do not cause harm to others.
May God give us His Grace to use this world’s wealth wisely in order that we may show forth the Glory of God and proclaim the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Gospel. Amen.
Bishop Ian.