Proper 13 (OT)

Isaiah 5:1-7

5 Let me sing for my beloved 

my love song concerning his vineyard: 

My beloved had a vineyard 

on a very fertile hill. 

²  He dug it and cleared it of stones, 

and planted it with choice vines; 

he built a watchtower in the midst of it, 

and hewed out a wine vat in it; 

and he looked for it to yield grapes, 

but it yielded wild grapes. 

³  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem 

and men of Judah, 

judge between me and my vineyard. 

⁴  What more was there to do for my vineyard, 

that I have not done in it? 

When I looked for it to yield grapes, 

why did it yield wild grapes? 

⁵  And now I will tell you 

what I will do to my vineyard. 

I will remove its hedge, 

and it shall be devoured; 

I will break down its wall, 

and it shall be trampled down. 

⁶  I will make it a waste; 

it shall not be pruned or hoed, 

and briers and thorns shall grow up; 

I will also command the clouds 

that they rain no rain upon it. 

⁷  For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts 

is the house of Israel, 

and the men of Judah 

are his pleasant planting; 

and he looked for justice, 

but behold, bloodshed; 

for righteousness, 

but behold, an outcry!

The Lord God has planted his Vineyard.  This Vineyard is the house of Israel and the men of Judah.  This Vineyard is the people whom God planted in the promise land.  He was the one who fought for them as they conquered the plains, hills, and valleys.  God was the one who did all the difficult work of making everything possible for the Israelites to thrive.  But his vineyard only produces wild grapes.

"What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?  When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?"  There is nothing he has not done for these people.  He delivered them from the hands of their enemies.  He gave them the military strength to remove the wickedness from within their walls.  But the people continue to turn to false gods and idols.  The people continue to listen to false prophets and allow for corruption and wickedness to thrive in their cities.

There is nothing left to do than to start over.  God will remove his protection from around them.  God will break down their strength. and he will cut back their strong branches and allow them to dry up and die.

Like his Vineyard once was it has truly became the same once again.  The people of God (in the Church) turn to false teaching and corrupt their youth.  These people look for physical power and might to accomplish the promises of God.  They look to monetary wealth rather than helping their neighbor.  The corruption with in the church has strayed from her cornerstone and foundation.  It may be time for God once again to come in and sweep his house clean.

People forget there is only one way to salvation.  There is only one way to produce good fruit.  There is only one who gives us strength against our enemies.  There is only one truth.  Jesus Christ is our strength, our way, our truth and our life.  Jesus Christ has had the Word of God preserved through many generations so that his truth may still be proclaimed in the world.  Jesus Christ died at the hands of sinners, of whom he came to save.

Proper 13 (G)

Matthew 21:33-46

³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: 

“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected 

has become the cornerstone; 

this was the Lord’s doing, 

and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. (ESV)

Who do you think should inherit the vineyard?  Do you think the man who built the vineyard and left it?  Or maybe the man who has been working in it day and night to make sure that it produces fruit?  Who should inherit the vineyard?  Similar example is the daughter who stand at home and worked for her parents scratching a living and taking care of their parents or the daughter that went off to the big city and decided to make a different life for herself.  The second daughter may have called home once in a while but never really came back to help out or make sure the farm was running smoothly.

Who should inherit the vineyard?  The son of the slave woman who would put in his fair time in the fields or the son who has been barely weened from his mother?  The tenants believe that all their hard work should afford them part of the inheritance.  They decide that if they kill the heir, the inheritance would become their own.

I don't know about you but this always sounded a little strange to me.  You need to make sure it looks like an accident, if you are going to kill the heir.  Because if the Master knows you killed his only Son, why wouldn't he just kill you.  But Jesus does not tell them the Kingdom of heaven is lost.  But the Kingdom of God is going to be given to people producing its fruits.

The Son of God is killed just outside the Vineyard.  The tenants will have the vineyard ripped from their hands, and given to others who will produce its fruit or hand over the fruit to its rightful owner.  Who will inherit the kingdom of God?  The Son dies so that you might be able to produce its fruit.  The Son of God shares his inheritance with you.

Proper 13 (OTA)

Genesis 21:8-21

⁸ And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁹ But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing. ¹⁰ So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.” ¹¹ And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named. ¹³ And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.” ¹⁴ So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 

¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. ¹⁷ And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. ¹⁸ Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰ And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. ²¹ He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. (ESV)

Sarah and Hagar were two women who started a war.  Sarah chose to have Hagar sleep with Abraham in order to conceive a Son for Abraham, for the purpose of inheriting Abraham's property.  Hagar obeys her mistress and she has a son named Ishmael.  Ishmael and Hagar have done nothing wrong.  God fulfills the promise which he made to Sarah and Abraham to have Sarah conceive a son, Isaac.  God has certainly done nothing wrong.  Now that Isaac has been weaned Abraham once again listens to his wife to send Hagar and Ishmael away.  Abraham may be a fault for listening to his wife.  But all the blame should really fall to Sarah.

Sarah is no different than most of us.  Sarah has heard the promise from God, but God is just a little slow for her taste so she tries to fulfill his promises on her own.  Sarah then watches as her plans blow up in her face.  Sarah then tries to find another solution to get rid of the problem.  But once again God has a plan for Sarah's mistake.  God makes another promise to Abraham that his son Ishmael would become a great nation.

Our plans will often times blow up in our face.  It is not our job to fulfill God's promises for him.  God has made his promises to people and God has fulfilled those promises.  God made a promise to Adam and Eve, and God finally fulfilled that promise in Jesus Christ death on the cross.  God still has yet to fulfill some of his promises.  But we need to be patient.  God does everything in his own time frame.  You just need to remember God has fulfilled his promises so far.  God promised Abraham and Sarah a son.  God promised Abraham Ishmael would become a great nation.  God promised to make the offspring of Abraham a blessing for the nations.  God has done these things.

Just be patient, there may even be a well very close by that you just can not see right now.  God is still taking care of his people.

Proper 13 (CL)

Galatians 4:21-31

²¹ Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? ²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. ²³ But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. ²⁴ Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written, 

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; 

break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! 

For the children of the desolate one will be more 

than those of the one who has a husband.” 

²⁸ Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. (ESV)

I have another tale to tell you.  You there was a messenger sent to the people of God to share with them his instruction and promise.  He came to the people of God and told them how God expected them to live, because God had created them and redeemed them.  But there was another man.  This man was not sent by God, but he likewise told the people how to live.  He gave them many rules that seemed very simple to follow, not unlike the instruction of the first.  But this second man said once you have followed all these rules and fulfilled them yourself, then God will create and redeem you.

One is born of the Law and the other born of the promise.  The one born of promise does not leave us to go off and do whatever we feel like because we are free.  No, he expects us to live a life as people set free and appreciate the one who has given us this gift.  This instruction may not be unlike the rules of the one born under the Law.  But do not trust the one born under the law when he tells you that you can accomplish them or that they will save you.

There is only one way to get to heaven or the promised land.  There is only one way of salvation.  Jesus Christ is the one who has given us life and allowed for us to be born children of the promise.  But these two sons of Abraham still war with each other today.  Not in the fight between Jew and Muslim, but between the fight of Legalism and Gospel reductionism.  There is a balance.  The son of the promise stuck with his Father and obeyed him.  So even as free, created, and redeemed people of God we still submit ourselves to God not for salvation, but out of appreciation and love.

Proper 12 (OT)

Micah 3:1-12

3 And I said:

Hear, you heads of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel!

Is it not for you to know justice?—

² you who hate the good and love the evil,

who tear the skin from off my people

and their flesh from off their bones,

³ who eat the flesh of my people,

and flay their skin from off them,

and break their bones in pieces

and chop them up like meat in a pot,

like flesh in a cauldron.

⁴ Then they will cry to the Lord,

but he will not answer them;

he will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have made their deeds evil.

⁵ Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets

who lead my people astray,

who cry “Peace”

when they have something to eat,

but declare war against him

who puts nothing into their mouths.

⁶ Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,

and darkness to you, without divination.

The sun shall go down on the prophets,

and the day shall be black over them;

⁷ the seers shall be disgraced,

and the diviners put to shame;

they shall all cover their lips,

for there is no answer from God.

⁸ But as for me, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his transgression

and to Israel his sin.

⁹ Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob

and rulers of the house of Israel,

who detest justice

and make crooked all that is straight,

¹⁰ who build Zion with blood

and Jerusalem with iniquity.

¹¹ Its heads give judgment for a bribe;

its priests teach for a price;

its prophets practice divination for money;

yet they lean on the Lord and say,

“Is not the Lord in the midst of us?

No disaster shall come upon us.”

¹² Therefore because of you

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

It was a pretty good idea to have people pay their priests and prophets to tell them what they wanted to hear. It would be easy to tell people what they want to hear. This would be the way to make a pretty cent. You can just promise all their fortunes will come true, while they give all their money to you.

The Nation of Israel is corrupt in this manner. The prophets cry out "Peace", but God is going to bring devastation upon his people. They have bribed their judges in order to escape judgment. They have bribed their priests to offer sacrifices and say they are forgiven. They even bribe prophets to cry out "Peace", when God is telling them something different.

Micah has been told by God, the people will be skinned alive and their flesh eaten. This is because of all this wicked corruption that has been taking place within Israel. But there is still some good news, God is bringing true justice to the people of Israel. God has told them the truth. He will destroy them because of their corruption. And he should destroy each of us for our corruption.

Instead, God has destroyed or killed his only Son Jesus Christ. Christ may not have been skinned alive, but if you watch the Passion of the Christ there is a strong picture of skin being torn off his body. He was killed and buried. This destruction took place on our behalf. Our sins continue to corrupt us, but God has shown us his mercy through the sacrifice of his only Son for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Proper 12 (G)

Matthew 23:1-12

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, ⁶ and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues ⁷ and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. ¹¹ The greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

It is strange sometimes to think of Jesus Christ telling the disciples to listen tot he scribes and Pharisees.  But Jesus says that they sit on Moses' seat.  They are the leaders of the people of God.  They are the shepherds who are supposed to teach truth.  But watch out, not all their teaching is proper nor beneficial.

They teach and place heavy burdens upon all their followers.  They place upon people's shoulders burdens to heavy to carry.  They teach laws that are impossible to accomplish.  But the Law is impossible to accomplish.  So if you listen to all these heavy burdens and try to follow all the Laws commanded by Moses and the Pharisees, you are either left with pride or humility.

You will either be overcome with the thought that you can actually accomplish all these tasks on your own, which is pride.  Or these burdens will lead you to despair and humility.  In humility, we come before the throne of God confessing our sins.  It is in despair that we truly find sorrow for our sins.

There at the bottom of the barrel do you find the true hope in Christ Jesus.  There when all seems lost do we find the grace of God shared with us in the Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So we listen to these instructors and find our salvation from their burdens in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Proper 12 (CL)

Galatians 4:8-20

⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? ¹⁰ You observe days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

¹² Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. ¹³ You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, ¹⁴ and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? ¹⁷ They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. ¹⁸ It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, ¹⁹ my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! ²⁰ I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

There are many elementary principles of the world that can lead us astray.  There are many different teachings within the world today that can ensnare minds.  But for Christian converts the most difficult task is remaining away from these various temptations.  But there is also the difficult task of learning good theology verses these various teachings of the world.

St Paul talks about people being enslaved to these weak and worthless elementary principles of the world.  Some of these principles are very powerful though.  Think of the influence the "Theory of Evolution" has consumed upon our culture.  You can also think of the influence that acceptance over tolerance has upon our culture.  Even more profound is the elemental and horrible influence of universal-ism or all roads lead to heaven.

St Paul teaches that there are many things that can corrupt the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  St Paul is very perplexed about how easily they have fallen back into their old ways.  But he still does not caste them out, but encourages them to return to the truth which he first gave to them.  He encourages them to repent of their old ways and be certain that Jesus Christ can redeem his people and rescue them from their bondage to slavery.

Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven.  God is the only creator of all things and he has not done so through millions of years of death and destruction.  God loves all people, but he does not accept their actions even in the least.  Jesus Christ has died for the forgiveness of all your sins.  He has rescued you from slavery to sin and death.  He is your strength against these various enemies.

Proper 12 (Ps) July 29th

Exodus 15:1b-18

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

² The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

³ The Lord is a man of war;

the Lord is his name.

⁴ “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,

and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

⁵ The floods covered them;

they went down into the depths like a stone.

⁶ Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,

your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

⁷ In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;

you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

⁸ At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;

the floods stood up in a heap;

the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’

¹⁰ You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;

they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹ “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

¹² You stretched out your right hand;

the earth swallowed them.

¹³ “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;

you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

¹⁴ The peoples have heard; they tremble;

pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

¹⁵ Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;

trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;

all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

¹⁶ Terror and dread fall upon them;

because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,

till your people, O Lord, pass by,

till the people pass by whom you have purchased.

¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,

the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,

the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

¹⁸ The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

I do not think people recall this song enough in their own life. Moses and the people of Israel sang this song in celebration for YHWH leading them across the Red Sea. God delivered his people out of the land of Slavery and bondage in the land of Egypt. He delivered them out of the hands of Pharaoh and his army. God may not have yet brought his people into the promise land but the power of the arm of God was revealed.

There is no-one like the LORD. There is nothing that can compare to his strength and power. There is nothing greater or more glorious than a God who would take slaves and deliver them even through the depths of the Sea. God has delivered his people.

We were slaves to sins. We are slaves to many different temptations in the world. We are tormented by our own misfortunes and the destruction that God may have in store for each of us. But be certain that God's mighty arm can deliver you. Jesus Christ was the powerful arm of God to remove your sins. Christ Jesus was the one greater than Moses appointed to deliver his people out of slavery and bondage to sin.

But Jesus Christ has not yet delivered us into the promise land. He has not yet ushered us into everlasting life. But Christ going to return and take us to the promise land. He is going to raise all of us out of our graves and make the dead to come to life. He is going to bring us out of the depths of the grave and then deliver us once and for all into the eternal promise land.

Proper 12 (GA)

Matthew 26:1-13

26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

⁶ Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Jesus tells us the certain purpose for his coming into the flesh. The Passover is still two days but don't forget when it comes the Son of Man will be crucified. The Son of Man has not come to rule or to be served but he has come to die. So when the woman comes and pours this "very expensive ointment" upon his head, it is not to anoint him to become King, but for his burial.

There are many things in this world that can consume our time. Mother Theresa spent the greater part of her life helping the poor and needed of this world. There are many others who spend their entire life trying to help people get off the streets. There are even more people that spend time working with children to help make sure they do not end up out on the street. But are there any less poor people today than yesterday?

The easy answer would be to change the definition of poor. If poor means not earning money, then maybe there are less poor people than yesterday when poor meant not earning a living wage. But Jesus tells us the poor will always be with us. There are always more children that will need to be placed in homes. There are always more people starving to death in some part of the world. There are always more things that need to be done to help our neighbor.

Here is the good news. The passover is only in two days. When the passover comes Jesus Christ will crucified and all of us will become rich. We will not become rich in physical wealth, but we will become rich in spiritual well being. Whether you are living on the street, with twenty people in a small room, 5 people in a four bedroom house, or one person in a 10 bedroom house, Jesus Christ has been crucified for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus Christ has made you rich through his sacrifice for your sins.

Proper 12 (NTA)

Romans 2:17-24

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸ and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹ and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹ you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴ For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Does the teacher ever turn his great inside within. There are many Pastors and preachers who talk about sins but never take time to mend their own ways. There are Pastors who are proud to talk about sexual immorality in the world around them, but never turn that thought inward on their own lusts and desires. There are other preachers who focus on pride and arrogance but are often time boasting about not being like their neighbor.

Does the person who preaches against homosexuality, but keeps a mistress on the side hypocritical? Does the person who teaches their children not to curse or swear, but uses worse language when talking about their plow or lawnmower? Which is better to say something is wrong, or to act like something is wrong and say nothing? Maybe it is a better question left to experts. But the truth is we are all sinners and we need to speak out against sinful behavior. Yet, the truth is we are all sinners and can not fully keep even ourselves from sinful behavior.

St Paul would tell us not to act like we are better than our neighbor, but still call a sin a sin. I often time think of myself as prideful, when I confess that I am chief of sinners or the worst sinner of all. But even though I know my constant battle with sin, I am reminded that you likewise have a similar battle. We are all in the same boat together. Your sins maybe the same or different from mine, but they are still all sins.

Just as my sins are forgiven in the blood of Christ, your sins are forgiven in the blood of Christ. But this does not give us freedom to continue in these sins. If we are going to speak out against sins, we need to do our best to avoid them. We also still turn to the greatest sinner of all Jesus Christ who took our sins upon himself and died for them all. He took our sins upon himself so that we could live free of the guilt and punishment which our sins deserve.

Proper 12 (OTA)

Isaiah 44:8-20

⁸ Fear not, nor be afraid;

have I not told you from of old and declared it?

And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no Rock; I know not any.”

⁹ All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰ Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

¹² The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. ¹⁵ Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸ They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” ²⁰ He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

I don't know about you , but I look around my house and find all kinds of little figure cast out of molds or carved out of wood. There are even a couple of images made from glass or metal. The art of our culture can be found even in video images, still photos, and other manufactured forms. People place these little knick-knacks around their house. Have you ever thought of these things as idols?

Isaiah does a great job of explaining how much care people took in developing their idols. People took time place a slight dent or indentation here and form these objects into forms which may even look like a human. Most of these knick-knacks around our house had someone who took that same amount of care in designing or making these objects.

But these objects do not do anything for us. This objects may have some kind of memory connected to them. Some of them may be something you picked up on vacation, others may be handed down from generation to generation. But these are just a few more elemental spirits to ensnare us.

God is not found in these objects. Though a cross on our wall, a painting of the last supper, or even a book may help us to remember what God has done for us. God is not any of these objects. God is not contained in any of these objects. God is God and there is non-like him. He is the one created all things. He is the one who gave his only-begotten Son to die so that you may have new life in his name.

Proper 11 (Ps) July 22nd

Psalm 143:1-12

¹  Hear my prayer, O Lord; 

give ear to my pleas for mercy! 

In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 

²  Enter not into judgment with your servant, 

for no one living is righteous before you. 

³  For the enemy has pursued my soul; 

he has crushed my life to the ground; 

he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 

⁴  Therefore my spirit faints within me; 

my heart within me is appalled. 

⁵  I remember the days of old; 

I meditate on all that you have done; 

I ponder the work of your hands. 

⁶  I stretch out my hands to you; 

my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 

⁷  Answer me quickly, O Lord! 

My spirit fails! 

Hide not your face from me, 

lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 

⁸  Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, 

for in you I trust. 

Make me know the way I should go, 

for to you I lift up my soul. 

⁹  Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! 

I have fled to you for refuge. 

¹⁰  Teach me to do your will, 

for you are my God! 

Let your good Spirit lead me 

on level ground! 

¹¹  For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! 

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 

¹²  And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, 

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, 

for I am your servant. 

The Theme for this Sunday is faith alone or Sola Fide.  In this Psalm it begins with a reminder of a plea for God to have mercy upon us.  It is only in the Righteousness that we have any hope.  But I would also point you to verse 10.  "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!"  God's will is done when he breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of those who would not allow his Kingdom to Come and his name to be hallowed.  Here though we desire God to teach us to help him in this task.

This would mean God should teach us first off about his grace and that it is not we who bring about the Kingdom of God nor we who make his name holy.  It is God who does these things.  Likewise, it is God who gives us the power to do his will.  It is God who strengthens us through his word.  It is not about us coming to God.  It is not about us asking God.  But the Holy Spirit working in us to do these wonderful things.

Just as we confess that we are saved by Faith alone apart from the works of the Law, it is the righteousness which God gives us that makes us righteous.  Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. So it is also our faith in the steadfast Love of God and sacrifice of Jesus Christ that is given to us by the Holy Spirit.

This gift of faith makes God's people righteous, just as Abraham's faith made him righteous.  Thus, we confess with the Psalmist that no one living is righteous before God, but through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection God has made all those who believe more righteous even than the Pharisees.

Proper 11 (GA)

Matthew 5:17-20

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus Christ did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets.  He did not come to take away any of the statements of what we were supposed to do.  Jesus affirms that the Law of Moses should be kept today.  But the real question this texts can leave us with are the ceremonial or cleanliness laws.  These laws elsewhere in the New Testament are said to be put aside or done away.  So Christians can eat pork, and work on the Sabbath day, and plant crops of different kind next to each other.  But Christians are not allowed to have improper sexual relations with animals, children, family members, or the same-sex.


Jesus teaches us that anyone who becomes lax in these teachings (which modern culture has definitely fallen in this avenue) will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  He goes so far to tell us that we need to be more righteous than the scribes and pharisees.  So there are some Christians today, who might argue that their personal piety is more than the Pharisees.  There are other Christians today, who are so laid back and easy going that they would also boast to being better than the Pharisees.


But I would contend that Jesus example of being more righteous than the pharisees is not something we can accomplish.  But on the other side of the coin, it is what Jesus commands us to accomplish.  You can not becoming righteous because of your own deeds.  You can not fulfill the Law on your own.  Thus, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it on our behalf.  He did not want us to discard the commands as no good.  But we are supposed to follow those commandments, and not place our value or righteousness in them, but in Christ.  It is Christ Jesus who has fulfilled the Law on our behalf and given us new life.  The only way into the Kingdom of Heaven is through Jesus Christ.

Proper 11 (NTA)

1 John 4:7-21

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 

¹³ By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 

Love gives us confidence for the day of Judgment.  I hear many people talk about the various things they love.  People often will say they love, chili cheese fries or hot dogs.  Other people will say they love their girlfriend or boyfriend.  Even others will talk about no-longer loving their spouse.  But is this what God is?  Does St John mean that God is infatuation with us emotionally and we could fall out of this relationship if we do not have enough cheese, bun, physical appearance, ability to make you giggle, or even treat him nice.

The Love St John is talking about goes well beyond love of chili cheese fries or even spouse.  The Love of God is perfect.  God loves us not because of who we are or what we can do or don't do.  God loves us because he made us.  God loves us and keeps working with us even when we reject, deny, and even hate him.  God has shown this love through his Son Jesus Christ.

God is love.  This Love is made perfect within us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  This Love gives us confidence for salvation even on the day of Judgment.  The Love, we have for chili cheese fries or even boyfriend/girlfriend, is fickle.  But God's Love is not because it gives us certainty.  It is this Love that should also be reflected when God commands us to love our neighbor as Christ has loved us.