The Collect for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
Lord, we pray that Your Grace may always go before and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle Ephesians 4:1-6
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over us all and through us all and who is within us all.
The Holy Gospel of St Luke 14:1-11
14 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent.
So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them this parable:
8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians Chapter 4, Verses 1-6.
In this portion of his Epistle, St Paul describes himself as the Lord Jesus’ prisoner:
“1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
This description of himself was used by St Paul on a number of occasions to describe his bond to the Lord Jesus and his unwavering belief that he would never be separated from this Holy Union by any earthly, or satanic power.
St Paul was bound to the Lord Jesus as an earthly prisoner might be bound, by chains to a prison officer.
St Paul then exhorts the Ephesian Christians live a life worthy of the high calling that they have received. This calling was to faith the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, which leads to Eternal Life in the Great Kingdom of God.
St Paul then urges the Ephesians to adopt humility:
“2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
He urges them to be humble and gentle, bearing with each other in love. This means overlooking their fellow Christians’ shortcomings, and forgiving any offence without reservation, even as the Lord Jesus sought His Father’s forgiveness on behalf of those who were crucifying Him, as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 23, Verses 32-34 :
“32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”
St Paul further urges the Ephesians to strive for unity and peace:
“3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Life was not easy in the first century A.D. Disagreements over food, shelter, employment, together with more serious disputes over land and property could arise at a moment’s notice. Such disputes could lead to friends, families, and even communities being torn apart, with bitterness and grudges lasting for many years, if not generations.
An example of a dispute, on a national scale, is the enmity that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans. This enmity began with Joseph and his brothers (the ancestors of the Jews and the Samaritans) and is recorded in the Old Testament Book of Genesis Chapter 37, Verses 3-4:
“3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”
This enmity, between the Jews and the Samaritans, lasted, and intensified, for 1,800 years, and was still strong in the Lord Jesus’ time, as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 4, Verses, 4-9:
“4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.”
The meeting between the Lord Jesus and the Samaritan woman is a most significant events described in the whole Bible as it is the first time that the Lord Jesus publicly stated that He was the Messiah, the long promised Saviour of the Israel, and ultimately the whole world.
Reading further into the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 4 reveals the mighty Truth about the Lord Jesus.
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
St Paul taught that living in peace with fellow Christians would show all people the love of the Lord Jesus as He had commanded in the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 1, Verses 34-35:
34 “A new command 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.”
St Paul then declares to the Ephesians:
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord,
one faith, one baptism”
“6 One God and Father of all, who is over us all and through us all and who is within us all.”
St Paul’s thrust in Verses 4, 5, and 6 is that the Christian faith, with its two sacraments (visible signs of a Spiritual profession), of Baptism and Faith, is founded on the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
In concluding our Epistle Reading, St Paul has made a strong declaration of the Triune nature of the one True, Almighty, and Holy God.
He makes the point that there is one body, which is the body of believers (the Church) and one Holy Spirit who has called all people to one hope (the Holy Gospel), by faith in one Lord (The Lord Jesus Christ), and this was expressed by the believers undergoing one Baptism (the sign of forgiveness, or washing away, of sins and new birth).
The first statement “One God the Father over us all.” tells that God the Father rules over The Kingdom of Heaven and all of His Creation.
The second statement “And all through us” refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whose Righteousness we are clothed.
The third statement “And who is in us all.” refers to the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts, by faith, and guides us in our daily lives by showing us the things (truth, love, wisdom, and the joy of obedience) of the Lord Jesus, as promised in the Holy Gospel of St John Chapter 16, Verses 12-15:
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
May God grant us a great measure of the Holy Spirit’s guidance so that all we think, do, and say may show forth the Love of the Lord Jesus and the Truth of His Holy Gospel. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Luke Chapter 14, Verses 1-11.
This passage of Scripture is a wonderful record of the wisdom and compassion of the Lord Jesus, which He abundantly showed forth during His earthly ministry.
Our account opens up by telling us that even when the Lord Jesus accepted an invitation to a meal (a sign of peace and fellowship) at a prominent Pharisee’s home, He was under close survellience by His enemies (the Jews):
“1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
The meal invitation ironically was from a “prominent Pharisee”. It may seem puzzling as to why the Jews would carry out close scrutiny, of the Lord Jesus, even at the house of one of their own prominent members.
The answer lies in the fact that there were factions among the Pharisee Party of the Jews which even reached into the Sanhedrin (the Ruling Council of the Jews).
While it is true that the Lord Jesus did preach, on a number of occasions, against the Pharisees and their hypocrisy, there were certain devout and kind Pharisees, who were truly looking for the coming of God’s Messiah.
These men led lives of a high moral standard, and were a blessing to those whom they led and taught.
The Lord Jesus’ praise of one such teacher of the Law is recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Mark Chapter 12, Verses 28-34:
“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?”
29 “The 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.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”
This question of what was the greatest commandment, was obviously asked in a sincere and reverent manner by this teacher and the Lord Jesus’ commendation of him proves that he was a devout and faithful teacher of the Law which if carried to its logical end would, in time, lead the teacher to the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
There were, however, other questions which were put to the Lord Jesus that in order to try to back Him into a “no win” situation. One such question was “is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.” Another “no win” question, even asked by St Peter, who most likely had had the question put to him, was “how many times must I forgive my brother”.
The Holy Gospel of St Mark Chapter 12, Verses 13-17 records the Lord Jesus’ response to the question of payment of taxes to Caesar:
“13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.
16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.
17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.”
The Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 18, Verse 21-22 records the Lord Jesus’ answer to the question of “how many times must I forgive my brother”:
“21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.”
Seventy times seven was a very large number, and would be understood in the Lord Jesus’ time as limitless.
In today’s Holy Gospel Reading, when the Lord Jesus entered the Pharisee’s house he saw a man who was suffering from a disease that made his body swell:
“2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent.”
On seeing him the Lord Jesus went on the offensive and asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, who were also guests in the house. “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” They could not answer and remained silent.
The Lord Jesus immediately, took hold of, and, healed the sick man and sent him on his way:
“So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.”
The Lord Jesus, obviously perceiving that the Pharisees would see His healing of the sick man as a work, and so braking the Sabbath Day Law forbidding work, He then asked the Pharisees, if any one of them had a child or an ox that fell into a well on the Sabbath day would they not immediately undertake a rescue:
“5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.”
This highlighted the old thorny question that haunted the Pharisees, “was man made for the Sabbath or was the Sabbath made for man?”
The answer was simple, the Sabbath was made for man, and doing good works took precedence over observing the Sabbath as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Mark Chapter 2, Verses 27-28:
“27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Prior to the meal, at the Pharisee’s house, the Lord Jesus drew His hearer’s attention to how the guests all sought to secure the seats of honour. This was possibly so they could more easily reach the food or hear the table conversation. In doing this they were able to promote themselves as distinguished guests and so be seen by the other guests as important persons.
The Lord Jesus warned His hearers against this practice:
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honour at the table, he told them this parable:
8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
The Lord Jesus taught His hearers that if they were invited to an important event, such as this wedding, do not hasten to take the best seat lest a more distinguished person be invited and you will have make way, get up, and be forced to take a more lowly seat and so suffer humiliation (not a pleasant thing in Jewish society).
The Lord Jesus then taught His hearers how they should behave at an important event:
“10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honoured in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
It is always better to take the lowest seat and have the host invite you up to a better seat and so honour you in front of all the other guests.
Humility is one of the most desirable characteristics that St Paul urged his readers to adopt.
To be genuinely humble is a most rewarding and praiseworthy character trait as it demonstrates courtesy and allows others to approach and communicate with you and so build trust and respect.
Many wonderful and rewarding friendships have grown from a humble manner that has been recognized and appreciated by the recipient of such a manner.
Let us pray that God will give us all a Spirit of humility and gentleness that we may bring honour and praise to our Heavenly Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ Whose Righteousness we are clothed in, and protected, by. Amen.
Bishop Ian