The Collect for the Fifth Sunday after The Epiphany
O Lord, we ask You to Keep Your Church continually in Your true religion; that they who continually lean only upon the hope of Your Heavenly Grace may evermore be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle, Colossians 3:12-17
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The Holy Gospel of St Matthew 13:24-30
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians Chapter 3, Verses 12-17.
In this portion of his Epistle St Paul exhorts the Colossian Christians, and all who read his Epistle, to pattern their lives according to the new commandments given by the Lord Jesus, together with the example of life, provided by their Lord:
“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
St Paul opened his exhortation by declaring that the Colossian Christians, and by implication all Christians, are “God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved”.
The description of God’s people as“chosen" is based solely on the action of God exercising His Sovereign Power of Choice, and subsequent Calling of His People through faith in the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This Choice and Calling is communicated to, and confirmed in, the minds and hearts of all believers, by the Ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The attributes:- compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, mentioned by St Paul are all manifestations of Love.
This Love was shown in its full measure, in the Earthly Life and Ministry of the Lord Jesus.
Love is at the very core of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and ultimately at the very core of God’s Divine Being.
The Holy Apostle John declares God’s love, and the consequences of rejecting God’s Love, in his Holy Gospel Chapter 3 Verses 16-18:
"16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
St Paul further reinforces his teaching on Love:
"13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Love is the fulfilment of all God’s Law and Commandments.
Forgiveness of sins is an essential part of God’s Love for all believers, and it must be an essential part of all believers’ love for one another. All believers must forgive those who sin against them.
The Command of the Lord Jesus to forgive others, is embodied in the Lord's Prayer, as recorded in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 6 Verse 11:
“And forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In his Epistle to the Galatian Church, Chapter 5, Verses 22-23, St Paul uses the same teaching to impress upon the mind of the young Galatian Christians the nature of Love, and its attributes, which fulfils all of God’s Holy Law:
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
St Paul then declared to the Colossian Christians:
“15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
The “Peace of Christ” is much more than just a state without war, civil strife, or personal trouble. It is a state of perfect serenity that embodies the Love and Protection of God, Salvation from His Judgement, freedom from the power of Satan, freedom from all sickness, and freedom from the power of all earthly and spiritual enemies.
For this Peace we should always give thanks to God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.
St Paul then gives practical advice on how to relate to one another as Christian brothers and sisters:
“16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
We are told that all our dealings with one another, and even the resolution of disputes, should be carried out in a joyful, respectful, and loving manner always giving thanks to God, with gratitude, for the Gift of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
This is not always an easy task without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Singing is a wonderful way of giving praise to the Lord Jesus as it allows us to use God’s great gift of music to His Glory.
I personally have a great love of the English hymns of the 18th and 19th Century. Many of these hymns are great sermons, and proclaim the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, accompanied by the most sublime pieces of music.
These wonderful hymns give great Glory to God and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus.
Also, these great hymns uplift the believer who plays them, sings them, or listens to them on a recording.
I love to play them (on the organ), and to sing them. I find that they calm my mind and soul, and refresh me in times of anxiety or stress. I believe this is the Holy Spirit’s Ministry to me.
The Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ must pervade and govern all that we say and do.
Our Reading concludes with St Paul’s strong command that the Holy Gospel must rule and direct our daily lives:
“17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Whatever we undertake in our personal lives, or in our working lives, we must always undertake it“in the name of the Lord Jesus” as if what are doing is for Him alone.
We must also ensure that what we, or fellow Christians are doing for others will be clearly known, by them, as being done by those whose actions are in response to the Love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In doing all "in the name of the Lord Jesus" we are acknowledging the Lord Jesus' authority over all things.
Let us pray that God will give us Grace to live our lives as men and women redeemed by the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus, and dedicate all that we say or do to the Lord Jesus, our Saviour and God. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 13, Verses 24-30.
This portion of his Holy Gospel St Matthew records one of the parables that the Lord Jesus used during His Earthly Ministry.
This parable likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a farmer who sowed a crop of good seed in his field. We are told that the crop was wheat, and this is important to the message of the parable:
“24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.”
The Sower is the Lord Jesus Christ and the good seed is all people, who hear, accept, and believe with joy, His Holy Word and so are fertilised with God’s Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
The field is the world.
The good fertilised seed is planted and begins to grow.
The farmer and his servants retire to sleep having completed their labours. During the night an enemy seeks to sabotage the good seed by sowing Darnel among the wheat:
"25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.”
Darnel is a weed that closely resembles wheat in the early stages of growth.
When the seeds sprout it is clearly seen that there are weeds growing alongside the wheat:
"26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared."
The farmer’s servants report the sabotage, and seek the owner’s permission to uproot the weeds without delay:
“27 The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up ?”
The enemy that sought to sabotage the crop is Satan.
The owner considers the situation and directs the servants to leave the weeds in place until the time of the harvest:
“29 No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.”
The owner knows that if he gives permission to the servants to immediately uproot the weeds then this action may result in damage to the wheat, so it is better to wait until harvest time.
It is at this time the weeds will be dealt with:
"30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn."
The Heavenly Harvest is the Great Day of Judgement that will take place at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.
At the time of the Heavenly Harvest the Harvesters (God’s Holy Angels) will separate the Righteous from the Unrighteous.
On the Great Day of Judgement all faithful believers in God’s Holy Word, from all ages of history, will be pronounced "Righteous" by the Lord Jesus.
They will be pronounced "Righteous" because they are clothed in the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, through their God-given faith in the Holy Gospel.
Those people who have rejected God’s Holy Word and so have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ will be pronounced "guilty" and condemned to eternal damnation in what the Holy Bible calls “the Lake of Fire.”
All faithful believers will be gathered into the Eternal Kingdom of God, there to live forever with the Lord Jesus, and fellow believers, from every age of history.
What a wonderful thing to contemplate; being able to speak with and enjoy Eternal Fellowship with The Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and all of God’s Holy Angels, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah and all the prophets from the Old Testament together with St John the Baptist, the Lord’s Twelve Apostles, the writers of the Holy Gospels, also St Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament Epistles, and Mary and Joseph, the earthly parents of the Lord Jesus.
However the most wonderful part of Life in God’s Eternal Kingdom will be the times we spend speaking with, and learning from God, our Heavenly Father, and the Lord Jesus, all the while enjoying Fellowship with the Mighty Holy Spirit.
Let us all thank God daily that He has given us Grace to rest secure in His Word and Promises, clothed in the Holy Righteousness of the Lord Jesus, protected from the evil spread by Satan and his followers, as we await the Great Harvest at the close of the ages, and the coming of God’s Eternal Kingdom. Amen.
Bishop Ian