Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, year B - Br. Andrew

Homily preached by Br Andrew e.f.o. at Springwood on Sunday 23rd August 2015

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Just frivolity:

I shall share with you something my mate Fr Dave Smith of Holy Trinity Dulwich Hill mentioned in his sermon last week which might clarify things in the end.

He said “Now, in case you’re not familiar with the different understandings that exist between the different Christian denominations when it comes to the Eucharist, the best way of remembering the distinctions, I think, was that given to me by my old mate, Tony Campolo (the great Baptist evangelist) who put it this way:

• In the Catholic understanding, the bread mysteriously becomes the body of Jesus and the blood mysteriously becomes His blood

• In the Anglican understanding, the bread remains bread and the wine remains wine, but to the person who consumes them in faith they become the body and blood of Jesus.

• In the Baptist understanding, he points out, the bread remains bread, and the wine magically becomes grape juice!”

At any rate, if you’re a good Catholic, you may well make an immediate association between this dialogue and the Eucharist – a sacrament that had its origin, you’ll remember, in the ‘Last Supper’ between Jesus and His disciples”

In this the fifth and final interlude of John’s Gospel within this part of the Markan year I intend to state the Non-conformist-middle point of view concerning the understanding of Jesus discourse at Capernaum.

While most agree that the event of the Feeding of the 5000 itself was representative of the first Holy Communion that is where the agreement ends. Protestant Commentators and Theologians such as Matthew Henry and Calvin, agree that Jesus’ teaching in the Synagogue was not about the Sacrament or Ordinance of Holy Communion / Eucharist. Therefore the true meaning intended by his words “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him.” John 6:56 are of a Spiritual nature and the instruction concerning His Body and Blood is to be understood figuratively.

Note there is no mention of wine.

Calvin commented that this discourse doesn’t relate to the Lord's Supper, but to the perpetual communication of the flesh of Christ, ["De la chair de Christ."] which we obtain apart from the use of the Lord's Supper. Communion alone does not grant us the Eternal life Jesus speaks of unless those that do so also follow His Words. It has been said by the theologians that they are saved who do not receive the Holy Communion and they are lost with it because it is not in the slavish keeping of the Holy Communion by which we are saved but in participating in this perpetual Communication of the flesh of Christ.

Matthew Poole writes, quote  “Feeding is to be meant believing in him; only here is a clearer discovery than was there in John 3:16-18, of the true object of that faith which justifies, namely a Christ crucified, for that is signified by the flesh and blood mentioned.”, end quote. While Albert Barnes draws our attention to the meaning ‘dining together’, had among the Jews, it was expressive of sharing in or partaking of the privileges of friendship.  The happiness of heaven and all spiritual blessings are often represented under this image, see Luke 14:15, “One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’”

Poole also comments on the terrible and awful notion that Jesus intended us to take his words literally and speaks disparagingly of the Council of Trent and goes on to comment that the situation demanded Jesus use the figure of eating and drinking because that was the subject of the  discourse; because the Jews were very proud of the fact that their fathers had eaten manna; and because, Jesus had said that he was the bread of life, it was natural and easy, especially in the language i.e. the specific words,  which he used, to carry out the illustration, and say that bread must be eaten in order to be of any use in supporting and saving men.

At the murmuring of his disciples  at such ‘hard sayings’ Jesus asks them “Does this cause you to stumble what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” John 6:62, a change of subject?

No, far from it, an illustration that points to the following year when Jesus would be crucified, dead and buried, rise from the dead and ascend into heaven. Meyer in his original language commentary uses these words “Will not this impending sight serve to offend you still more” for “Does this cause you to stumble” and says of it that he whom they believe to be mortal to Ascend into heaven is just as preposterous as literally and actually eating his flesh and drinking his blood. But for those future readers who have formed erroneous or heretical Eucharistic conceptions who are already aware that Jesus is God –They are to understand that their practices and understandings have gotten out of hand because the Son of Man has ascended in his flesh and is not here to be feasted upon.

The crux of this communication Jesus is making both to those in the Synagogue and to us is that Jesus intends all that he has taught them to be understood in the Spiritual context 6;63 “ It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”

When we and John’s readers, contemplate the spirit we are drawn past the Ascension to Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is given but  John’s subjects remain ignorant indifferent or curious and eager to understand. When those who partake in the perpetual communicating of the flesh of Christ have received this Spirit they will be taught by the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in the name of Jesus, who will teach them all things and will remind them of everything Jesus had said to them. They will find a deeper meaning than the carnal one as they compare manna from heaven and the Ascension of the Son of Man and will know that Jesus did not intend that the Holy Communion or the Communicating of the Flesh of Christ to be carnal but spiritual.

Any mother will tell you of the amazing experience of ‘quickening’ when she begins to know  her child is truly alive and developing.

This quickening by the Spirit is what brings us to Spiritual birth and keeps us alive in Christ if we “obey his word we will never see death." John 8:51

And "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23

Next verse

But this is conditional on a person being called to perpetual communication of the flesh of Christ (to faith) by the Father for we do not choose God but he chooses us. For faith in Christ is the gift of God, and coming to him, is due to efficacious grace, and is not the practice of man's power and free will. It is truly the will of the Father that all who see Jesus and believe in him may have eternal life; and he will raise them up on the last day. John 6:40

From the pulpit commentary - Christ does not give the hunger, but the bread. From the beginning he saw the existence of the appetite after the bread which he came to bequeath. John 6:40

St Peter gives us the climax “We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  After declaring there is nowhere else to go.

This Jesus in whom we believe is the very Son of God without whom we can live and so we feed upon Him in our hearts and by this we mean the continual communication between Him and His Body of all he is and has been to us while in the flesh and all he is now in Heaven.

And we keep his Holy ordinance as the New Covenant in His Blood because he asked us to but before hand or certainly at some time we need to harken to the voice of the Father and be led by him through sanctifying Grace into the eternal communication of love between  ourselves and Christ, of the communication of his flesh. United to His Body through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

5th Sunday of Lent year B - Br. Andrew

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Homily preached by Br. Andrew at Blaxland on Sunday 22^nd March 2015

5^th Sunday in Lent year B

Text:

Hebrews 5:5-14, John 12:27,28

Hebrews 5:9a …having been made perfect,

The writer to the Hebrews is unknown to us, though both Barnabas and Apollos have been suggested, Barnabas because he was a Jew of the priestly Tribe of Levi (Acts 4:36) and Apollos as a man of learning with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures (Acts 18:24).

The Letter was written prior to 70 AD since references are made to the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Letter was written to Jewish Christians to remind them of true and legitimate Christian practises.

Through Prayer to Perfection

Our particular reading concerns the necessary Perfection of a Saviour/ Priest

Was not Christ ‘perfect’ already? In what way was the only Son of God imperfect? For the author writes “and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9NRSV)

In our reading we are given information concerning how someone becomes a High priest, it tells us that they are selected from among men, from among the Tribe of Levi and more specifically from the descendants of Aaron, it wasn’t something one just decided to be. They were called by God, just as Aaron was, ideally so anyway, since by the time of King Herod the Great they were appointed by him rather than elected.

In the same way Jesus didn’t just decide to glorify himself by taking upon himself the Office of High Priest, it was God who gave Him the glory of becoming a High priest because he says.  ‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’” (Hebrews 5:5, c)

Point of order: Jesus was of the Tribe of Judah and the Royal House of David and not of the Tribe of Levi and therefore had no natural right to be elected to the Levitical Priesthood which is why he could not take it upon himself but must be made perfect to become the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him before being designated the Great High Priest by God

    

As I began I was musing over the fact of how or why Christ had to be made perfect. Surely the only Son of God was, is perfect and yet it tells us that  While Christ was on earth in his quest for perfection, to become the person he is meant to be he spent time in constant prayer, constant communion with the Father, even in tears, pleading with His Father for the strength and grace to submit his flesh to His final purpose, death on the Cross he learned obedience through his suffering and because of his reverent submission Jesus was heard.

St. Luke tells us that Jesus prayed regularly and records more about Jesus’ prayer practises in his Gospel than any other gospel writer. Prayer is the essence of anyone’s relationship with the Father and so it was the essence of Jesus’ own relationship with His Father.

Through Prayer Jesus became worthy to be called the Son of God, as the Father said at Jesus’ baptism ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;* with you I am well pleased. And again ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’ ;’( Mark 1:11b, Hebrews 5:5a NRSV) worthy to become our Great High Priest, our Saviour Priest.

The stages of Jesus’ journey into complete self-knowledge and utterly complete obedience to His Father’s Will are all marked by prayer, right up until the night before he died, and even upon the cross he prayed himself toward complete union with His Father as must we.

We can almost hear that purposeful voice telling his parents that he must be about his Father’s business and then we hear nothing of Jesus again until his baptism  where he prays just before the Holy Spirit comes upon him ( Luke 3:21,22) and afterwards in the wilderness. Scripture records that at each important junction in his life and mission Jesus prays. Before choosing the apostles (Luke 6:12-13); before His Transfiguration (Luke 9:28, 29).

Becoming through Prayer.

We celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration some 6 weeks ago, the last Sunday before Lent and between then and now we have been walking with Jesus towards Jerusalem and his death on the Cross. Jesus has been ratified by the Law and the Prophets in the figures of Elijah and Moses, of which he is the fulfilment. He has been transfigured before the eyes of Peter, James and John and once more acclaimed God’s beloved One. Jesus is now most definitely our Great high Priest he has become perfect through Prayer.

Today’s gospel finds us just after where we shall be next Sunday with Jesus’ triumphant ride into Jerusalem on the Ass and in language typically Johannine almost back in the clouds of the Mount of Transfiguration. Therefore I shall leave most of it for us to examine at our leisure on Thursday evening.

I want to finish here:

In verses 27 and 28 John quotes Jesus saying:

‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.’

At one and the same time Jesus is perfectly human and perfectly divine and so of course the human being is troubled but now the Integrated, fully self-Actuated Jesus and his Father are about to have a conversation for the sake of the listeners and not for any doubt of Jesus.

What Jesus inaugurates with his death and resurrection, this new Covenant, our At- One- ment with the Trinity brings us back to the Jewish Christians we left earlier who were still not well enough acquainted with the doctrines of the Resurrection that they were in two minds as to perhaps revert to Judaism.

As Jesus, brothers and sisters we owe it to any other believer the ministry of prayer and intercession so that none might be lost to the one Jesus calls the Prince of this world- so in us Jesus ministry of Prayer lives on whenever two or three are gathered together in His name.

20th Sunday after Pentecost- Br. Andrew

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Homily preached at Winmalee

by Br Andrew on 26th October 2014

20th Sunday after Pentecost

Whose Son Is the Christ?

Readings

Gospel Matthew 22:34-46

Psalm 110 Jewish Orthodox Bible

Gideon was very young to have become a Lawyer but had done very well at his studies and he had recently graduated at the top of his class from the College in the Portico of Solomon, even though only seventeen years of age; Gideon was most eager to make his name.

Well, he thought, making Jesus look a fool might work in his favour, though to date no one else had succeeded. He had hardly had the chance to think of a curly question when a dig propelled him forward and one of the Pharisees hissed “ask him which is the great commandment in the Law?’  That is not fair, thought Gideon, there is no way that Jesus will manage to answer correctly by quoting just a single commandment because all the commandments have equal weight, we are to walk in obedience to all the Lord our God has commanded us..

Gideon had witnessed the Pharisees, and their ilk question Jesus relentlessly regarding the Law, the Jews thought him to be a mere man, and the carpenter's son. The Pharisees thought that he rejected the fixed moral Laws of their time, a libertine, a loose, and licentious person, that had no regard to the law, and good works: hence those words of his, "think not that I am come to destroy the law", Yea, they thought him to be a Samaritan, and be possessed, and to cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils.

Nevertheless, I went ahead, most respectfully, addressing Jesus as “Teacher” and asked the question.

Jesus replied by summarising the first 4 commandments those concerning the relationship between ourselves and God, all in one sentence! Then he said that the second was like it and summarised the remaining 6 commandments relating to the way we treat each other in another sentence. As an Attorney of the Torah I just have to admit that Jesus knows his Scripture because the sum of the Law and the prophets do depend upon the keeping of those two great commandments.

We were still gathered there, wondering what would happen next when Jesus asked the Pharisees a question: he asked them what they thought about the Christ, the anointed one and whose son he was.

Everyone, well almost everyone knows that the Christ will be the son of David and so Samuel, he that had shoved me forward said just that, the Christ will be the son of David. Then when Jesus quotes the scripture further I realise he quotes from the fifth book of the Psalms, Psalm 110 to be exact a Messianic Psalm, where King David wrote in the Spirit:

44“‘The Lord said to my Lord,

(NB Galatinus (q) says the true Targum of Jonathan has it, "the Lord said to his Word;'')

“Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’?

There was no Lord greater than David then, so where is the son that David would call his Lord? There was Solomon he had called his Song of Songs, only the Christ is worthy to be named David’s Lord and to sit on the right hand on high.

Now I am ashamed because I begin to fear that I have asked the author of the Law to explain it as though he were a nothing, a sinner– which is just what both Sadducees and Pharisees believe – someone to get rid of before the current corrupt system comes undone.

Here are the first three verses of this psalm, the way I learnt it and perhaps you might understand it more easily – it goes

1 A Psalm of David. HaShem saith unto my lord(Adoni) 'Sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.'

2 The rod of Thy strength HaShem will send out of Zion: 'Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

'As you can hear there is no mistake what so ever that God Hashem, the Name, is speaking to Adoni; David’s Lord (the Messiah) who is the son of David, the Christ.

Should Jesus imply that this Psalm applies to himself then perhaps I have seen the face of God and live!

Gideon leaves stunned

The debate was over. Jesus had won decisively (cf. 22:46). But, of course, this only hardened the opposition and brought the crisis to a head. The crucifixion was, in the minds of the religious leaders, to be their final response.

After that they durst not ask him anymore: - But the answer is given to us later in the New Testament by the apostle Paul. For Paul writes to the Romans that he has been called by God into the service of the Gospel to announce, the good news concerning God's Son, "who was descended from David according to the flesh and was acknowledged to be the Son of God in power . . . by his resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:3-4). Jesus himself is the son of David who was at the same time David's lord.

Many attested to this throughout Jesus’ Ministry, the Canaanite woman, the two blind men blind Bartimaeus, and the crowds in the temple, when he overthrew the tables, who sang Hosanna to the Son of David.

I have counted Psalm 110:1, no less than 17 times in 12 different books of the New Testament, it is a Psalm that refers 1000 years into the future from David’s time and continues until the return of the Messiah, unknown years from now. In one sense it encapsulates the scriptures themselves, for there are so many references to it, it is used as a proof and an explanation or as part of a sermon in so many places, such as when Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 in his sermon on Pentecost:  “now that the Christ sits at the right hand of Power all other things will come to pass in God’s time.”

Some are overcome already by him, as sin, Satan, and the world; and the Jews, his enemies, who refused his Kingship, they have been destroyed: as yet all things are not beneath his feet, these will be; the antichrist, and the kings of the earth that are with him, they will be overcome by him; the beast and false prophet will be taken and cast into the lake of fire; where also the old serpent, the devil, after he has been bound and loosed, will be  also be hurled; and when the final enemy, death, shall be destroyed; until that time comes, Christ reigns and will reign, and afterwards too, even to all eternity…

I have passed around the Orthodox Jewish Bible’s version of Psalm 110 for us to think on, and to consider that in our hands is the ability to reduce the numbers of those who will suffer the wrath of the Messiah – merely by the witness of our living.

Amen

16th Sunday after Pentecost-Br Andrew

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Holy Redeemer

An ECCA Parish

In the care of the Ecumenical Franciscan Order

Homily preached at Winmalee 

by

 Br Andrew on  Sunday 28th September 2014

Gospel Matthew 21:23-32

“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Authority is a wonderful thing to have when differences are to be settled and people are to be put in their place, yes authority can be useful. As a citizen of Judah both Civil and Ecclesiastical Bodies held authority over Jesus, just as they did every other citizen. Shortly in (Matthew 22:21) we will learn that Jesus even acknowledged the right of the Roman overlords to exact their taxes. Remember also the time that the collectors of the Temple Tax approached Peter to discover whether Jesus paid that tax, a four drachma coin was found in a fish’s mouth and the tax was paid for both Peter and Jesus – whether the Son of God had to pay it or not. (Matt.17:24-27) Today the Roman Church calls this payment Peter’s pence.

The record in today’s Gospel gives us another incident illustrating one of those situation in which a citizen was required to comply with both Civil – the Elders of the People and Ecclesiastical – the Pharisees; Courts These two Bodies of Law had come out in force to arrest this imposter who recently had disrupted a very lucrative money spinner when he threw the money Changers out of the Temple.

They wanted his piece of Paper – that authorized him to preach and teach.

The Son of Man had no piece of Paper! AND they knew this!

Every Rabbi had his right to practise as an Instructor presented  to him by the scribes, or their chief representative, after they had finished their studies at the feet of some great teacher and been solemnly admitted (the delivery of a key, as the symbol of the right to interpret, being the outward token) to that office.

The second question made sense of the first. Could He name the Rabbi who had trained Him, or authorised Him to teach?

As a human being Jesus had not gone through the usual educational and study process to obtain the necessary qualifications, his knowledge and Authority came from his heavenly Father. The Authorities knew he was a paperless Rabbi because they did not have his name in their records, they knew he could not name the Rabbi who had trained him, because there wasn’t one and therefore could arrest him at the very least as an imposter.

Jesus responds to their question “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”(21:24,25)

All in a tizz they deliberated that, although they had investigated John the Baptist and found him, let us say satisfactory as a Prophet. To say that John received his authority from God would mean that they must also acknowledge that Jesus’ Authority also came from God. To deny the former would cause the people to riot, because the people believed John was a prophet, this would be disastrous so they lied and said that they didn’t know. So they made fools of themselves implying that experts as they were supposed to be they could not determine the Authenticity of any prophet.

27…. Then (Jesus) said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things”

To the ears of the people of his time his parables were easier to understand and probably held greater depths of meaning as well as any word play that doesn’t come through to translation. For instance – as well as this being a parable it is also a metaphor.

What then did the parable of the two sons say to them? Let’s look at these Old Testament Metaphors:

·         Firstly for the Israelites the “Vine” is a symbol of (Israel's) Spiritual privileges.

·         Secondly the vineyard was a symbol of (Israel) and its promised prosperity.

Jesus, however is speaking of the Vineyard of the Kingdom of Heaven wherein he is the Vine, (John 15: ) in this Parable I am going to use the symbolism to represent both the Mission field and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Firstly the Parable itself intends the Vineyard to be the Kingdom of Heaven, the place wherein we shall finally attain our perfect spiritual relationship with Jesus. AKA the promised prosperity of Israel

The Sons represent two classes of people, the first: those who erstwhile were tax collectors and sinners but who received the Baptism of John and were converted, his/ their “NO” represents their former lives of sin and their Going to work the Vineyard their conversion and entering first into the kingdom.

The second son represents the second class of people, who were full of self-righteousness; who even after hearing John’s call to repentance had ignored it because they didn’t believe him, or that his call applied to them, the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. Yet after seeing this, they did not repent and believe him. Hence prostitutes and sinners shall enter Heaven before they do.

Later we will read that after the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. And in public too!

Now let us  compare the vineyard to the Mission field of the world we inhabit, we live in it, we work in it to bring others to know the love of Christ and the reality of the Kingdom and as we do so we grow in spiritual intimacy with him. Jesus is never far away because we are developing an intimate relationship with him that spurs us to do his will gladly.

If we were one of those who, like the Pharisees, only pretend conversion, who have not yet believed in the call to repentance we would soon discover that the Vineyard was too uncomfortable a place to be until we could face up to the darkness within us and believe, until then we try to conceal ourselves with our new clothes and good deeds.

It is not chic to be a Christian, not even a fashion statement, and small communities such as ours must explain our raison d’etre to some of the more innocent members of the Body of Christ that do not realise the necessity for safe havens. Ours, then is a double Mission - not only to seek out the lost but perhaps to make known to the greater Church Community that there is a safe haven for those who do not pass muster, even to show others that they may need to be here too.

Amen

12th Sunday after Pentecost - Sermon extra no 8

12th Sunday after Pentecost

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	Sermon - Christ: Who Defines Christ? (Matthew 16:21-28) | Preaching.com Source: preaching.com

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7th Sunday after Pentecost

Andre-Rublev's Saviour

Homily preached by Br Andrew  for 27th July 2014

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Gospel Matthew 13:44-58

Last Saturday Jessica and I went with the Adventurer’s group from Spinal Cord Injury Australia to the YHA in the rocks which is a working archaeological site known as the “Big dig”. There we had the chance to examine some of the artefacts and to hear some of the history of our convict ancestors’.

One of the artefacts was a little doll known as a ‘Frozen Charlotte” doll the story being that Charlotte was off to a winter ball and all dressed up in her finery had refused to wear a cloak for her ride in the open carriage; her father had said ‘Charlotte, you will surely freeze to death’ and so she did. These little dolls were made of porcelain  without clothes so that little girls might dress them to suit themselves.

"Frozen charlie 2" by Wampile - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

After countless years this series of parables can become too familiar to us for us to appreciate the teachings hidden within them; especially after traipsing around in a muddy field for a day and a half looking for priceless treasure with a metal detector. Hence my little story at the beginning: archaeologists are treasure hunters in their own way and while not always being successful on a dig, when they do discover something it is of immense historical, even theological value not only to themselves but to others right down the ages.

When we first encounter the Gospel, giving up that we have to obtain it means that we change our lives in keeping with the words of Jesus, we become followers of the Way. We reach that point in our lives when we realize that to comply with the treasure of the Gospel we must abandon the things in our lives that separate us from God, that impede us from growing in our faith and be willing to place ourselves at Christ’s disposal……

Having exhausted myself of anything further to give I offer the following sermon by 

Martin G Collins

The Parable of the Pearl

The first four parables of Matthew 13 are darkened by an ominous cloud. In contrast, the last four cast light on the assurance of a positive future for the saints. In this second of the chapter's third pair of parables, Jesus reveals more secrets to His disciples regarding the high value God places on the church. The Parable of the Pearl (verse 45) particularly reveals the high cost to God of acquiring potential members of His Kingdom.....read on

http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/BS/k/1153/Parable-of-Pearl.htm