Our Christian Duty

One charism given the Church by the Holy Spirit is the office of teaching and that of course implies

there are students in need of knowledge (Job 36:3; Psa 119:66). To be a right student of the precepts of Christ and biblical doctrines, we should seek the wisdom of the ages imparted to the Church by the Spirit of God (John 14:26). As traditional Christians we look to the ancient Kalendar to guide us in this pursuit which is no mere accident: as God creates order so the Christian year is set up cyclically and systematically to teach basic doctrine unto salvation as we are taught to pray and teach unceasingly (Acts 5:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28, etc.) to gain command of precepts, tradition, and doctrine (2 Thes 2:15;3:3; 1Cor. 11:2). In this way each person entering the church is assured a solid and consistent foundation in order to work out their salvation through knowledge, wisdom, and holiness, which are gained in repetition. (Heb 5:11-6:3).

So where are we in this systematic cycle of doctrine today? Briefly, we begin the Year with Advent- a season of preparation and anticipation; Christmas - a season of revelation; Epiphany - meditation; Lent sin and pardon; Ash Wednesday- repentance; Easter - resurrection and the Risen life; Ascension - ascension and waiting on the Church; Pentecost - the mission of the Church; Trinity Sunday – The Church Triumphant and the Vision of God; Sundays after Trinity (also referred to as "Common Time") - The Life of Holiness; The First Trinity Series – Christian Motive; and today, the sixth Sunday in Trinitytide is the first in five Sundays outlining our duties Godward and towards our fellow man.

Let's take a look at Christian Duty, we begin with the Epistle to the Romans Ch. 6 v. 3.-

KNOW ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Here we learn about grace through baptism is both the beginning of the risen life (Easter) and the basis of a life of duty. Our baptism brings us into union with Christ Jesus through grace and divine love and there our duty begins. Decades of neglect of many churches to teach duty towards baptism and grace can certainly be seen in today's cultural decline.

But Christ's death and resurrection extend themselves to the sacrament of Baptism, making it the means of a death unto sin and a new birth unto righteousness: and thus endowing Christians with a power to fulfil the requirements of His law which otherwise they could not possess. ~ John Henry Blunt

In this epistle Paul speaks to being baptism into and buried into His death while united with Him by the likeness of the same as well as our fallen nature dying with Him. We receive the benefits of His Passion - grace received, remission of sins, and share in all for he which he died just as if we were crucified with him. 

The power of Christ against sin becomes thus not only a power external to the soul, but an inward capacity, the practical use or disuse of which is at the will of those to whom it is given. ~ JHB

As such we have a duty of remaining dead to sin and we need to understand how, through grace, we are given the means of dying to sin and begin to walk in the newness of life.  The implication here is that in the power of His death we are to continually die to sin and by the power of His life we are to continually put on the new man.  We can reject duty and the gifts given to us at our baptism as we have free will. Many do reject covenants with God as we will see later in this post- the outcome is disastrous.

Now let's read today's Gospel, S. Matthew Ch. 5 beginning at verse 20.

JESUS said unto his disciples, Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

The Christian Year begins with Advent.

Why do you suppose these scriptures are given together? Consider that our New Covenant reveals the love of God which one might consider to require less effort on the part of those baptized into this covenant. But that is not the case we see here.  In fact, by receiving this unbounding grace more is expected of us, a new standard, and the bar of duty has been raised. Even the esteemed Scribes and Pharisees are now brought low in comparison. 

"This day sets forth the principle that the obligation of the old law is heightened under the New Dispensation: as also that the stricter obligation of the new law is accompanied by a proportionate increase in the grace by which the duty of obedience to God may be fulfilled." ~ John Henry Blunt

It's not hard to see why. They do not know humility, they are self-satisfied, and they love the law more than the Lawmaker. Their arrogance and self absorption is a stumbling block to knowing the love of God. God's mercy and love are infinite, while finite hubris limits the soul's progress towards the Kingdom.

As such, the various devotions of prayer, fasts, and alms-givings of the Scribes and Pharisees are merely outward- a saccharin substitute without value or power and unable to save. They withhold the greater gift of love and are content to give menial sacrifice. Consider Ananius and Sapphira (Acts 5) when they chose externals over the law of love and such evil was judged accordingly. 

We also see Jesus speak to judgment and the Jewish Courts -- rage leads to the coroner's investigation and then to the court for judgment and sentence.  Such separates man from God.

"Christ's law extends to the wilful conception of an act as well as to the act itself, and accounts the one a sin as well as the other." ~ John Henry Blunt

This warning gives us pause to examine our intentions and passions- to restrain the impulse and evil thoughts which are internal crimes, stopping them from becoming word or act. Thus we live the law of love in our hearts giving us a sense of duty to live a higher standard by "putting on the new man" through our baptism into Christ Jesus.  As a new creation our inward life will extend to all our relationships bringing peace with men so that we can now approach the altar of God, not with a superficial and external pretense as a Pharisee, but with a contrite heart and sincere devotion- born anew by the power of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Our New Covenant truly is a restoration and perfection of the covenant with Abraham.  Through faith regaining that which Abraham received through faith.  Our OT lesson- Genesis 18:1-16 has a purpose here:

And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

The Lord appears to Abraham but God is invisible and yet is seen by Abraham, and of course, fulfilling the promise centuries later, Christ will become Incarnate in a lowly manger before men.

Note that Abraham was a holy man and elder and he wasn't required by custom to greet anyone in the extraordinary manner related in the narrative yet he gets up (those of us gaining in age know how this alone can be a difficult) and runs in adoration and humility to accommodate these guests. We see in Abraham's hospitality a manifestation of duty of love in the Epistle. Think of Christ affirming hospitality when he says "I was a stranger and you took me in" and His washing of the Apostles feet.

 Figuratively the oak of Mamre (Hebron) means vision or sharpness of sight- he could see because he was pure of heart... a foreshadowing of the Beatitudes to the 'pure of heart'. Abraham doesn't posture like a Pharisee- his heart guides his response as he is a subject of the law of love.

A glimpse of the Holy Trinity.  Saint Ambrose sums it up:

"Abraham, who was glad to receive strangers, faithful to God and tireless in his service and prompt in fulfilling his duty, saw the Trinity typified. He added religious devotion to hospitality, for although he beheld three, he adored one, and, while keeping a distinction of the persons, yet he called one Lord, thus giving honor to the three but signifying one power. For not knowledge but grace spoke in him. And he believed better what he had not learned than we who have been taught. No one had falsified the type of truth, and therefore he saw three but worshiped their unity. He brought out three measures of meal but slaughtered one calf, believing one sacrifice was sufficient, but a threefold offering; one victim, but a threefold gift. ON HIS BROTHER, SATYRUS 2.96.4

The Three Cakes.  Ambrose continues:

He says, “Mix three measures of fine flour and make cakes.” In Greek these are called enkryphia, that is, hidden things, to indicate that every mystery must remain hidden and as if covered by inviolable silence, so that it should not be divulged inconsiderately to profane ears. In this silence the divine majesty is nurtured. With this inner attitude the one who is sober in speech avoids divulging the sacred. In using three measures of flour, Sarah is in fact giving a brief teaching about the mystery of the faith, she who is herself a prefiguration of the church, to whom are addressed the words, “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in travail.”39 It is in fact the church that protects the faith in the intimacy of the Spirit when it professes the Trinity of one and the same nature, when it adores in equal measure and with equal veneration the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and celebrates them together in the same majesty, distinguishing according to what is proper to each person. Mix your piety with this profession of faith! ON ABRAHAM 1.5.38.40

Bread and meat are distributed as blessings- just as the gifts of our baptism into Christ, nourishing us with His sacraments and gifts of the Spirit.

Hospitality, a duty of love, has recompense- divine reward. Sarah is promised a son as a sign of covenant which will lead to generations of heirs- the Church.

The passage ends with the three men leaving to go down to Sodom.  A stark consequence with the grace bestowed on the humble and portent of judgment and one that illustrates our free will to choose sin and reject the law o love.  A lesson learned too late by Ananias and Sapphira.

Let's pray these Scriptures:
O GOD, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We hope you enjoyed this lesson and will consider joining us for Christian Education at St. Athanasius next Sunday as we continue our study of duty in Part II: The Service of Slaves. 

Pax Christus,

John Dixon
Warden, St. Athanasius Anglican Church
www.glenallenanglicans.org


For further reading and meditation this week-- Romans 4:13; Psalms 85, 16, 111, 71; Isaiah 57 13b-19; Matthew 5:38; 2 Timothy 2:7-13.


Sources:  The Harmony of the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels, P. M. Scott; Ancient Christian Commentary.

Illustrations by Enid Chadwick

Lenton Devotion on Mark 1:40-45

Mark 1:40-45 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Contracting leprosy was one of the most tragic things that could have happened to an individual in the ancient world. Whenever a leper was around other people, he was required to shout “unclean, unclean,” so passersby would know to keep their distance. A leper was required to live “alone, outside the camp,” so as to reduce the risk of transmitting his disease to others (Leviticus 13:45-46). To be a leper was to be isolated and humiliated perpetually. And then Jesus came and changed everything. One of the great beauties of the Gospels is how frequently they record Jesus’ interactions with lepers. He approached them and was approached by them. He treated them with respect and kindness. He even did the unthinkable: he touched them, and his touch made them clean. Jesus healed the lepers. Many biblical scholars have pointed out that there is an analogy between the physical condition of leprosy and the spiritual condition of sin. Sin in our hearts isolates us, both from God and from other people. Try as we might to hide it or remove it, the stain of sin remains present. Like Lady Macbeth, we try to wash away the stain of sin crying, “out damn’d spot,” all to no avail. We are unclean, and we know it. 

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is the contagiously clean man. When he touched a leper, Jesus did not contract leprosy. Rather, the leper became clean. Those trying in vain to remove their sin must allow themselves to be touched by the contagiously clean man. And, like the leper in the story, may we who have experienced that touch possess an uncontainable gratitude, talking freely about our encounter with the contagiously clean man. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Son who makes clean everything he touches. By his grace may our hearts and our actions be touched by him this day and everyday. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Peace and blessings!

Fr. Thierry


"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay”(Habakkuk 2:3).

A Lenten Daily Devotion: Zechariah 12:10-14

Another daily devotion for Lent. We hope you enjoy these and will visit us to learn more.

Zechariah 12:10-14  And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Although Zechariah spoke these words, they were the words of the Lord. Yet how could this be? How could God say, “They look on me, on him whom they have pierced?” Could God be wounded? Even more puzzling, could God be “pierced” – which indicated a killing? In other words, could God die? Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy. Not only was he fully God, he was also fully man. Moreover, as the prophecy predicted, Jesus was the “only child” and “firstborn” Son of the Father (John 3:16). He died and, on the cross, he was pierced: “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John19:34).

The prophecy, however, said more. It said that those who pierced him would mourn because God would pour out on them “a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy.” In other words, the Spirit would open their eyes to see what they had done and how grievous their sin had been. This mourning would be widespread yet intimate – “the land shall mourn, each family by itself.”

In part, this prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost. Peter said to his listeners, “You crucified and killed [Jesus] by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). Then, upon hearing the gospel, they were “cut to the heart” and 3,000 were saved that day (Acts 2:37-41). Today, this prophecy is still being fulfilled. As the Spirit fills us with grace, we mourn over Christ’s death because we know that “he was wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5). In our sorrow, however, we also rejoice because his death “brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). 

Prayer

Lord, we confess that our sin pierced Jesus. Thus, we mourn and ask you to pour out your Spirit of grace and mercy. In humility, we rejoice that your loving-kindness never fails – while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). In Christ’s Name, Amen. 

Peace and blessings!


Fr. Thierry

"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay”(Habakkuk 2:3).

Lenten Devotion Psalm 22

Psalm 22:1-11, 29-31  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Psalm 22 is the first in a cluster of psalms that describe the suffering of someone which seems to echo the accounts in Isaiah of the suffering servant of the Lord. The first line of this psalm is likely to be familiar to us because Jesus cried out these exact words when he was being crucified on the cross. Yet this psalm was written by David, many generations before that. Whatever suffering of his own that David was recounting, he was also prophetically describing the redemptive suffering of Christ on the cross thousands of years later. Jesus would have read this psalm many times in his life during worship at the temple. He no doubt had it memorized, for it to come so readily to his mind when he was on the cross. Knowing what he was going to face, Jesus could have spent his life in fear or dread. Instead, he, like David before him, clung on to what he knew was true: God is holy, God is his God, and God has been trustworthy throughout his life. And then, based on these truths, David appeals to God to stay close to him. Jesus knew, though, that the greatest suffering he would face would be abandonment by God, so that God would never abandon his people. The psalm ends with praise and a note of triumph at the end: “for he has done it.” Jesus stayed to the end, bore our sins, and purchased our reconciliation with God. The messianic nature of the psalm becomes clear as David declares that past generations that have died as well as future generations not yet born will all come to know that his God is a God who delivers his people from suffering. After all because Jesus really was completely forsaken by God (for us!), we can be confident that we never will be abandoned, even if, in our suffering, God seems far away or silent when we call out.

Prayer

Gracious God, we glorify you that because Jesus knew what it meant to be utterly separated from you, we will never have to experience that. Strengthen our faith to truly believe this especially when we think we have reasons to doubt it. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Peace and blessings!

Fr. Thierry


"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay”(Habakkuk 2:3).

Lenten Devotion: Psalm 69

Psalm 69:1-12  Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.

David is drowning in his troubles (vv. 1-3). He is crying out in solitary agony, cast aside by his friends and family (v. 4) and set upon by his foes (v. 8). His reputation is under attack. The champion whose name was once celebrated in the streets is now being mocked in the taverns (v. 12). Israel’s savior is crying for salvation and he hears no reply (v. 3).

The pain we feel when our reputation is under attack is uniquely excruciating. No matter whether we come from cultural backgrounds that prize the family name or are individualists who seek to make a name for ourselves, that name is our resumé. Kill it and we are in danger of a full-blown identity crisis. How are we tempted to respond when it is our reputation that is being assaulted? Do we cover up our flaws? Do we succumb to despair? Do we drive ourselves (and others) crazy in a hopeless quest for perfection? David is on a different track.

Even in his distress, David’s mind is not on himself. He is not preoccupied with his own honor. His zeal is for the Lord’s house. This is what consumes him (v. 9). Honestly confessing his faults, he prays there would be no collateral damage from his own folly that would defame the God of Israel or those who look to him (vv. 5-6). David makes his appeal, boldly staking his claim upon the steadfast love and faithfulness of his just and omniscient Lord (v. 13). In short, he locates himself in God’s own reputation.

Many years later, the one called the Son of David entered the temple in Jerusalem at Passover, driving out the merchants and money-changers. His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house has consumed me” (John 2:17). This confrontation sparked the events that would culminate in the greatest loss of dignity imaginable. The creator of the universe, humiliated as a criminal on a cross, prayed for his enemies, offering them all the benefits of his good name. In Jesus, we inherit an eternal reputation that can never be tarnished.

Let's Pray Together:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of God, we confess that we have sought too much to make a name for ourselves, and have considered too little the name you have given us. You, whose name is above all names, made yourself of no reputation. You humbled yourself, taking the form of a servant, and endured the violent scorn of those to whom you offered your title. Through the ultimate exchange, you have written your name on our foreheads, and written our names, indelibly, in your Book of Life. Give us the wisdom and faith necessary to humbly receive your exaltation. Teach us by the Spirit and the word to grow together into that name, and thereby to begin to reflect the traits associated with it. For your kingdom, by your power, for your glory, Amen.

Peace and blessings!

Fr. Thierry


"For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay”(Habakkuk 2:3).