The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, 2023
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Introit p. 16
Introit
God is in His holy habitation:
He is God who setteth the solitary in families.
The God of Israel is He that giveth strength:
and power unto His people.
Psalm. Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered:
let them also that hate Him flee before Him.
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Thy mercy, forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
My heart trusteth in God, and I am helped:
therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth;
and with my song will I praise Him.
V. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord, my Rock:
be not silent to me; hear the voice at my supplications.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Lord, Thou hast been our Dwelling Place in all generations.
Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Word Moves Us
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #47 Savior Again to Thy Dear Name
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #47 Savior Again to Thy Dear Name
In Our Prayers
- Diagnosis and Treatment - Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Robert Northcutt, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Kermit and Maria Way, Callie.
KJV Matthew 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
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KJV 1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet 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 which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
KJV Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 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 every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Eleventh Sunday After Trinity
Lord God, heavenly Father, we beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not forget our sins and be filled with pride, but continue in daily repentance and renewal, seeking our comfort only in the blessed knowledge that Thou wilt be merciful unto us, forgive us our sins, and grant us eternal life; through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The Word Moves Us
KJV Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Stories work well to test a particular point. The longer version is often called an allegory and people fuss about whether something is allegorical or not - Lord of the Rings, Star Wars. Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is a deliberate allegory, using stories to illustrate the teaching of the Scriptures.
I thought the Slough of Despond in the Pilgrim's Progress was so obvious, because sloughs were common in Moline area. Augustana College had a slough which connected the upper campus to the lower campus. It had so many organics in it that my biology teacher had us sample the water and draw the creatures for an assignment. The slough in Pilgrim's Progress is the visual for people starting out and becoming encumbered. One man says, "If this is how it starts, how will it end?"
Rabbis were known for presenting their lessons in story form. One story from The Joys of Yiddish concerned a rabbi whose illustrations were always perfect for teaching a story with the lesson. "How do you make your illustrations fit?" The rabbi said - "I will give you an example - A man was known for his perfect marksmanship. People marveled at how he got a bullseye in each one of the targets. He said - I fire a shot at the barn and paint a target around it, so it is always a bullseye."'
Jesus started with the conclusion - certain people trusted in themselves that
(a) they were righteous, and
(b) despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
The Pharisees were known to be among the best, very careful in observing the Law. Today's version would be the citizen whose outward appearance and virtues are known to everyone. In comparison the publican was a tax farmer, someone given the right to get as much tax as possible to support the occupation of foreign civil servants and soldiers. This approach was a major cause in the French Revolution. When the tax collector has ultimate power, there is a lot of hatred toward that person and that office.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
The Pharisee seems to be a graduate of the coaching seminars that were so new and popular a few years ago. I was at a business meeting where the latest "coach" was giving everyone spooky looks to show how exalted he was (or could be). Another form of this is the person who lets everyone know that he has worked or talked his way to the top and wants to bask in his accomplishments and his superiority. Ministers have been known to boast about the acreage of their parking lots and their donations to the synod. Activists today use virtue signaling to show off their virtues and look down on everyone else.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
The outward appearance is always going to impress people, and that leads to a lot of sorrow. The important part of this parable is the example of the humble, contrite person who does not show up for his bragging rights but to confess his sins at the Temple. This is fraught with meaning, since the fanatics started a war with Rome only 40 years later and lost the Temple, the city, and their freedom.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luther placed a great emphasis on the good tree versus the evil tree (Sermon on the Mount). Another comparison is John 15, where Jesus has a sermon about Himself as the True Vine. Those who follow Him are cleansed through confession and faith in the Gospel Word.
I practice this in the Rose Garden. People apologize for wanting roses, but I point out, "The more I trim, the more I get for others." Midweek cleansing is far more likely to produce a good vase of flowers for Sunday. If left alone they go to seed and become more dormant rather than more fruitful.
There is dead wood on every rose bush, so that is pruned away and removed.
The productive branches are even more productive when trimmed away. We know from Creation that the fruiting plants are energized by being trimmed. The roots grow more. The branches extend themselves. The energy of the plant turns to producing the the flower and the fruit.
6. Hence the beginning of goodness or godliness is not in us, but in the Word of God. God must first let his Word sound in our hearts by which we learn to know and to believe him, and afterwards do good works. So we must believe from this that the publican had learned God’s Word.
It is strange that most church bureaucrats have let this truth go completely. They are so enchanted with graphs, statistics, business methods, and trends that they never include the power of the Word of God. Rather than encouraging faith, they use the Scriptures as slogans for the next campaign. For the Leftists, they say, "The Gospel compels us to..." a bizarre combination of the Law with good works.
Others say, "We have to grow to have more pastors to have more churches to have more members." Tangible growth is something they idolize so they are denied their dreams and fantasies.
How can they accomplish God's will - as they boast - when they do not honor God's Word and God's intentions?
If we look at what the great and powerful have done, the results are museums rather than churches. Rockefeller gushed oil money to build the U. of Chicago and many buildings dedication to the goals of the National Council of Churches. They are all the opposite of the Christian Faith, unfruitful and keen on removing the faithful.
The End
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