The Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent
Almighty God, Who sees that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities that may happen to our body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt our soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for Ash Wednesday
Almighty and Everlasting God, who hates nothing that You have made, and forgives the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts that we, being truly sorry for our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may, obtain of You, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.
The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Gospel of St Matthew 15:21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Bishop Ian’s Thoughts
Today’s Epistle Reading is taken from St Paul’s First Epistle to the Thessalonians Chapter 4, Verses 1-8.
In this portion of his Epistle St Paul exhorts the Thessalonian Christians to continue to strive for a life that honours the Lord Jesus Christ in every area of human experience.
St Paul was only able to spend a short time with the Thessalonians, due to the Jews starting a riot to force him out of the city. Such a public breach of the peace would have threatened the status of Thessalonica as a “Free City.”
A city that was considered a place of significant value as an educational centre, and major hub of commerce and culture, could be granted the status of a “Free City.”
A “Free City” enjoyed the benefit of being able to enact its own autonomous laws and have its own city officials. It still had a Roman overseer but was largely left to chart its own affairs.
Thessalonica was granted “Fee City” status in 42 BC.
St Paul departed from Thessalonica, after a short stay of only 4-6 weeks, with concerns as to whether the young church would be able to endure in the pagan environment of the city.
St Paul later heard that the Thessalonian Church was holding its own and even successfully promoting the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus and winning converts.
Overjoyed he wrote his first letter to them and urged them to continue their Christian lives as they had begun.
“4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”
He commends their perseverance stating “as in fact you are living”:
St Paul reminded the Thessalonians that he and his fellow missionaries carried out their ministry “by the authority of the Lord Jesus.”
St Paul then gives Thessalonian Christians a special direction regarding the moral standard that the Lord Jesus required them to strive to achieve:
“3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.”
The Roman-Greco world of the Lord Jesus’ time was a most morally corrupt era, with sexual immorality rife.
Seeking out and engaging in sexual relations was considered on the same level of needs as food and drink. It was considered "normal" for the pagans to engage in premarital liaisons, together with extramarital relations, as the opportunity arose.
The Thessalonians are especially warned not to take sexual advantage of any other Christian within their Church.
St Paul exhorted the Thessalonian Christians to avoid such sin and to control their bodies in a way that is “holy and honourable.” By living lives that were pure, the young Thessalonian Church would be clearly distinguishable from the pagan religions of the day.
St Paul then concludes our Epistle Reading by warning the Thessalonians that God would punish any Christian that continued to live in an immoral way:
“The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”
St Paul also told the Thessalonians that they, and all, Christians are called to live lives of sanctification in which continual effort is made to avoid any forms of sexual promiscuity.
Any Christian who engages in immoral behaviour will have not rejected man, but God and will be punished by God.
What this punishment might be is not revealed but it may be loss of family, or infliction of disease, or some other means of chastening that God may impose.
We who live in this day and age, are being bombarded by pornography and other filth.
Contemporary films and TV shows are becoming more and more saturated by deviant sexual behaviour and open immorality.
The world of popular music, reality television shows, the world of fashion, and especially modern social media is becoming laden with demonic filth, that urges young people to adopt the vile lifestyles that are presented, or portrayed.
Also in this day and age we are seeing a great resurgence of the occult and witchcraft, promoted by modern films and TV programmes.
Satan has always had his followers, however in days past, when the ethics of the Holy Gospel pervaded Western society, like salt in stew, Satan’s work was kept at bay.
The Lord Jesus described his faithful people, soon to be known as Christians, as the Salt of the Earth, in His sermon on the Mount. This description is found in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 5, Verses 13:
“13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
Now the gloves are off and Satan’s agents are revealing themselves at every level of society, and government, seeking to extinguish the influence of the Holy Gospel.
The modern age in which we live is a debauched and self-centred age, in which anything goes as long as you please yourself and disregard others.
Christians throughout the world are alarmed at the gay revolution that has swept across the world in the last few decades, and is now assaulting and smashing open the very doors of the Christian Church.
I am appalled that many mainstream churches nowadays have gay bishops and ministers, who advocate that a gay lifestyle is compatible with the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many countries have enacted same sex marriage laws. These laws directly contradict God’s Holy Law and the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is my unalterable belief that a gay lifestyle is totally opposed to God’s Holy Word and Holy Christian living.
Such a state of affairs, within the Christian Church, will surely invite the Wrath of God.
God will act very soon to destroy Satan and his followers, at the time of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. At that time the Lord Jesus will sit in Judgement of all mankind, at God’s Great Judgement.
Let us look forward with joy to God’s Great Judgement and pray that in the meantime God will give us Grace to seek after His Purity, and to fashion and live our lives as those who are redeemed by the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and forever clothed in His Holy Righteousness, and made His children by Adoption. Amen.
Today’s Holy Gospel Reading is taken from the Holy Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 15, Verses 21-28.
In this portion of his Holy Gospel St Matthew records the meeting between the Lord Jesus and the Canaanite woman.
The woman sought His Mercy, requesting that her demon possessed daughter be set free from her bondage to this evil spirit.
The region of Tyre and Sidon was a Gentile area and both cities were regarded, by the Jews, as notoriously ungodly cities.
The Canaanites were a descended from the people that inhabited the land of Canaan (the Land promised by God to Abraham), prior to the conquest of the land by the Jews, lead by Joshua, around 1450 BC.
“21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
The Canaanite woman obviously had knowledge of the Lord Jesus, as she knew of His lineage from the House of David, and she approached Him with an expectation of securing a cure for her daughter.
We can also assume that she had a basic faith in the Lord Jesus as a Prophet from God, as she believed that He had power over demons and other unclean spirits.
The Lord Jesus at first remained silent, testing the woman’s faith, to the extent that His disciples urged Him to get rid of her as she was disturbing the peace of the group, with her crying out:
“23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
The Lord Jesus, confident that the right moment had arrived, finally responds to the woman by stating what the Jews firmly believed, regarding God’s Messiah.
The Lord Jesus' response was an escalation of His testing of her, as He saw her faith developing and growing stronger:
“24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman did not stop at the Lord Jesus' initial response, but came up to Him and “knelt before Him.” Kneeling before a person, in the Lord Jesus’ time, was a sign of submission, devotion and worship:
“25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.”
The woman had demonstrated her faith in the Lord Jesus as One sent from God and as such she honoured Him with Worship.
The Lord Jesus answered her with a further test, to draw out her deep faith and show to His Disciples, and other companions what strong faith consisted of:
“26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
This response, by the Lord Jesus, may have had a trace of humour as He used the term “dogs” to describe the Gentile woman.
The Jews used this same term to describe all Gentiles and they were self-assured that God and His Mighty Messiah would not give the Blessings, promised to the Jews, to any Gentile.
The Jews did not remember that the promise of God, to their Father Abraham, was meant for all the people of the world. The Old Testament Book of Genesis records this promise in Chapter 12, Verses 1-3:
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
The Lord Jesus’ declaration regarding the giving of the children’s bread to the “dogs” still did not deter the woman from pressing on with her request for the Lord Jesus’ assistance.
Her next statement showed the depth of her faith:
“27 Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
The Lord Jesus was astonished, and pleased, at her reply and described her faith, in the hearing of his Disciples and other followers, as “great faith.”
“28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”
The healing of the woman’s daughter was a “remote” miracle, like the Centurion’s servant, also described in the Holy Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 8, Verses 5-13:
“5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
“8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
“10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
“13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.”
This miracle of healing the Canaanite woman’s daughter, like the healing of the Centurion’s servant described above, was brought about by the woman’s and the Centurion’s deep faith, in the All Powerful Word of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Son of God.
The Lord Jesus granted her request that her daughter be healed, as a reward for her faith, in which she persevered and showed the depth of her belief in the Power and Mercy of the Lord Jesus, graciously given, even to those who were outside of the Jewish Covenant which was based on the Law of Moses.
She deeply believed that the Mercy of God was available to all people including Gentiles, such as herself.
Let us give thanks to God for revealing the Love of the Lord Jesus to all people, both Jew and Gentile alike, and ask Him to give us His Grace us show that Love, and the Truth of the Holy Gospel of the Lord Jesus to all people that we meet in our daily lives. Amen.
Bishop Ian