Last Sunday after TrinityLeviticus 19.1–2, 15–18 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8 Matthew 22: 34-46I am not the greatest fan of police programmes on the television. Yes, they may be on but I generally find I'm doing something else but watch them. That is until my attention is forcibly directed towards the television. If a police car is shown in full pursuit of another car, or dashing off to investigate an emergency call, the probability is high that it will have its blue and twos on. That is where the trouble lies, where my concentration is broken. For some reason our dog, when it hears Blues and twos, sits up and howls. Nothing will stop her but to switch off to another programme. Actually, the prologue to Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado has the same effect on her.What can be the relationship between the police car involved in a chase and making its presence known and the music of the Mikado prologue introducing the twists and turns taking place in a region of Japan? The answer must lie in law and order. In the one instance the police car is racing to a scene where law and order has broken down in all probability, and in the other instance we are treated to the twists and trials of a love relationship in Japan involving the Emperor, his son, the Chief of Staff who holds so many positions and is easily corruptible, and the Emperor’s intended.The Collect, special payer, for today contains the line, “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:”. I am not too sure how large a pile of books and documents, of scrolls and tablets that would be but we can gain a little understanding when we look at the books of the law that are on the tables in the Houses of Parliament. And they are but a small part of our legal history. Laws form the base for any country. It is upon them that we know what we can and cannot do.Most people are under one law regime or another. For instance, in our country, almost every law can find its base in the second of the Two Commandments. But we are jumping the gun here. Looking at the first of the Two Great Commandments we are instructed to love God. It is a love which emanates from our heart, soul and body. It is a complete love. It means that to God we must give a total love, a love which dominates our emotions, a love which directs our thoughts, and a love which is the basis of our actions.As we look at the Second Great Commandment, we note that the love of God comes first. It must come first before we can consider any other love. It is only by loving God can we entertain loving anyone else. So, who is it that we are loving? They are not a bundle of bones, a collection of chemical elements, the result of Darwin’s principle of Creation.Whoever we are, whoever they are that is the object of our affection, God comes into it right at the very beginning. We are all made in the image of God. The love of God comes first then the love of everyone else. It is only by loving God are we able to love others. By loving God humanity is lovable. Here is the basis of life. It lies in the love of God. If we take away that love then our view of humanity becomes tainted. We look at our fellow humans in an uncaring and heartless fashion.Should we cast to one side that love of God then we can only fall back on the desires and wishes that are frequently driven by a desire for riches and wealth. In going down that path we can tend to leave God to one side. Many of our actions may still prove to be highly commendable and socially acceptable. We may still be seen as pillars of our community, involved in good works and care for our fellows, but without God there is not quite that same level of love. Our heart may well be fully involved in what we are doing but it will not be with that spark of love that we have taken on board that comes from God.What is that love which we are encouraged to accept and follow? It is to love God, but not only God but to love all of humanity which God has created in his own image. To love both God and humanity with a truly enfolding cloak of totality. That is a cloak which contains a total commitment to God which is seen as a true devotion to him, and a realistic preparedness to serve our fellow humanity in any and all practical ways.Collect for the Last Sunday after TrinityBlessed Lord,who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:help us so to hear them,to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest themthat, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life,which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Twentieth Sunday after TrinityPsalm 96:1-9 Isaiah 45:1-7 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Matthew 22:15-22I have been a keen collector of coins for many years. I specialise in English coins my ambition being to obtain one coin from every monarch who has sat on the English throne, or otherwise, from Henry III in 1216 AD. I have nearly done it with just a couple of gaps. Looking further afield I have quite a collection of Roman coins spanning some 400 years of Roman Emperors. One coin especially is a Tiberius tribute penny dating from 14 – 37AD. This is the coinage that Jesus and his disciples would have been familiar with.The gospel reading for today takes us into the world of taxation. Whoever we are we are all subject to one form of taxation or another. We either pay tax directly to the exchequer or treasury through income tax, or indirectly through things that we purchase with VAT. Going back to the day of the tribute penny, or denarius. A coin in common circulation depicting various emperor’s heads it was this coin that Jesus was being questioned about. The situation in Palestine was not simple for it was an occupied country, occupied by the Romans. Several taxes had to be paid. One was a Tax that had to be paid to the Romans otherwise they would get a little bit cross, but no-one wanted to pay that tax. To not pay it would lead to arrest. You may resent paying taxes, but it had to be paid. Not much different from today one could say. But there was a religious reason for not wanting to pay. To the Jew God was the only king. To pay any taxes to an earthly king was to validate his authority and thereby insult God. Jesus was caught in a cleft stick. Whatever answer he gave he faced the possibility of laying himself wide open to further trouble.Back to the tribute penny or denarius. It had the head of the ruling emperor stamped on it and this was a mark of ownership. So, as Jesus said, give back to Caeser, who owned the coin, what belongs to him. Jesus, in his wisdom, laid down his teaching, a teaching which never goes out of date.We all have a double citizenship. Some people even have more. Most of us have a citizenship of the country in which we live. As part of that citizenship, we embrace the laws of that land, we contribute to the public services, we share in the welfare state, we form part of the infrastructure. As a citizen we have a debt of obligation. We need to be responsible else we fail in our Christian duty.However, the Christian is a citizen of heaven. We have responsibilities and duties which we direct to God. That which is given to us by God we return to him. When we are convinced that something must be done because it is God’s will it must be done. Conversely, if we are convinced that something is against the will of God then we should take no part in it.The problem really lies where the two boundaries meet and Jesus does not give us any guidance here. Where the two duties lie side by side we need to recognise. Jesus does not rise up and give a pronouncement as to which way we should turn. He leaves that for our own conscience to test. But Jesus does give us some assistance.Give to Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser and give to God what belongs to God. That way we can be both a good citizen of our country and also at the same time a good citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Carrying out our duty we will not fail either to God nor to our fellow humans.Collect for the Twentieth Sunday after TrinityGod, the giver of life,whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:by the Spirit's gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ and make us eager to do your will,that we may share with the whole creationthe joys of eternal life;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Nineteenth Sunday after TrinityIsaiah 25.1–9 Psalm 23 Philippians 4.1–9 Matthew 22.1–14Most people attend a wedding with happiness in their hearts and smiles on their face. Occasionally there will be the one who has tears in their eyes and sadness in their heart, sadness at loosing a son or daughter. Regardless, a wedding is a special event and has its place in the life of a community. Many will know the occasion is taking place and will sometimes gather to watch the happy couple as they begin their new life in the local society. What vehicle will the bride by? Will it be a posh Rolls Royce, or on a trailer pulled by a tractor? Will it be the local taxi service or some old vintage car, full of style and mystique? The options are numerous and I have seen many of them.Now let Jesus come onto the scene. We are in a different time frame and with different social ways. A king is hosting his son’s wedding. Invitations will have been sent out some time before, an early warning that the wedding was to take place soon..ish. The date and time are made public knowledge much nearer the event. Jesus is accusing the Jews who had been invited by God to be his chosen people. Likened to a wedding with the Jews being the invited guests, when the time came for the guests to attend the ceremonial wedding feast, they refused to come. God had called them just as he calls us. In the parable the Jews refused any involvement. In today’s life God still calls to us and we have the opportunity to hear him and respond.We may hear and try to follow the ways of his Son. But it is not always an easy path. So, we stray and take what may seem the easier option of being aware but not a lot more. We are in danger of being like the Jews of old. Hear that we have been called but still go our own way.There are others who may hear the call but do not even give it a second thought. Here we are comparing them to the sinners and the Gentiles of the parable. They, we are told, would never have expected an invitation. Today we have about us those who also would never expect to receive an invitation from God.God is giving an invitation. It is to a feast, a happy occasion. To be called by God to be a Christian is a moment of joy. Christianity is not a gloomy leaving behind all that you find enjoyable, a life of laughter. It is to be a part of a happy fellowship.Those who were invited made their excuses for not attending. They may well have been quite valid and important reasons. Yet it is so easy to get carried away with the work of daily life. One can get so involved that everything gets put to one side, including God.Then the call is made and God requires our presence rather like the second call to the wedding guests giving the date and time in the very near future. The wise, after the first indication that they would be invited to a wedding had made preparation, were ready to attend at a moments notice, to respond to God’s call. The others, who took the attitude of ‘getting ready in due course for a banquet takes time to arrange’ would have received the second call, made themselves ready, and attended the feast only to find the doors closed.There are many lessons that may be learnt here but one involves our very being. How do we present ourselves before God. The workers in the field who wore their finest garments waiting for the call to attend the wedding would have soiled their clothes with dust and mud possibly. But they would be in a state of readiness. Once upon a time it was the rule that one’s Sunday Best was worn to go to church, or we put on decent and fine clothes when we go to a friend for an evening celebration.This parable is not aimed at how we dress ourselves to go to church. We can wear our Sunday Best, yes, or we can wear a smart pair of jeans. The choice is ours. The point is not that we are showing off our finery but a measure of preparation. Do we approach God with a silent prayer, in real reverence and with true self-examination? Then we are ready to receive the invitation.Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday after TrinityO God, forasmuch as without youwe are not able to please you;mercifully grant that your Holy Spiritmay in all things direct and rule our hearts;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.Amen.
Eighteenth Sunday after TrinityIsaiah 5.1–7 Philippians 3.4b –14 Matthew 21.33–endImagine for a moment that you are successful in business. So successful that you are the owner of several companies. As time passes the companies increase in their viability. They are now too big for you alone to manage. Now is the time to bring in assistance. Who better than to keep all in the family and enlist your children in the management.Such is the way of the world and is how things have proceeded for years. But, back in the time of Jesus, although such practice was common there was also an accompanying criminal intent as there is in more modern times.Running a successful vineyard was a lucrative business. It is likely that such a businessman could have more than one vineyard. Palestine was a troubled land and lookouts would be posted, watch-towers built, to guard against thieves. At harvest time the owner would send out slaves to gather in the harvest. Today the owner would expect his managers to arrange the harvest. The aim was the same, to gather in the produce.As Jesus spoke his parable the listeners would be able to identify just who is being targeted. The vineyard is the Israeli nation with God as its owner. The workers in the vineyard were the religious leaders having charge for the success and welfare of the people. The messengers sent were the prophets who were rejected or even put to death. Finally, the son who came to the vineyard was Jesus.In the relating of the parable his listeners would have probably squirmed as they recognised their part being described. Today we experience similar attempts being made on successful businesses. Thieves were trying to steal the vineyard and revolted against the agents sent by the owner. Yet as we look at the words of Jesus, we see how he is telling of the history of Israel.The business owner, the owner of the vineyard, is God. The parable is showing us the trust that God has in us all. Religious leaders are placed in the vineyard to lead and encourage. They were not supervised but entrusted with the task they were given. Today the local business managers have been entrusted with the local running of the business. Looking at ourselves, we understand that each task that we are given is a duty which is ours through the grace of God.We are assessed on how successful we are. God does not give us just one chance. Like the messengers sent time and again so we are given chance and opportunity to be successful in the duty given to us. But, in the end, if we have failed completely, we should not be surprised if that which we had a care for is taken from us and given to others. We had sunk to our lowest level.We had been given all of the tools that we should need to complete that which we have been tasked to do. God has given us our task. He has laid out before us that which he demands from us. He has also given us the wherewithal to be successful. It is almost like being in an Escape Room, a room where you are locked in and the task is to unlock the door and get out. I have never been in one but have heard how everything that you need to escape from the room is provided. It is up to you to find and use what is supplied. God has provided us with all that we need to produce a successful harvest, and that is ourselves.The thieves that the people Jesus was addressing is likened to the sin that surrounds us. Waiting, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness. It will manifest itself as disobedience, as rebellion, against God’s wishes. Sin is deliberate in its action. It is us doing our own thing when we know quite well just what is required of us.Jesus, the Son of God is above the messengers. He is above the local managers at work. Before him had been the prophets. They were messengers of God and held in high esteem for the work that they did, but Jesus came as the Son. He came to do all that God had required of him. He also came knowing what lay before him. He would die, not because he was being compelled to die. He would go to his death willingly, knowing full well what he was doing.We are in the vineyard. We are working towards bringing forth the harvest. Whoever we are the task is ours. God has given us the tools to go out and bring in the fruit of the vine, the harvest of souls. Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after TrinityAlmighty and everlasting God,increase in us your gift of faiththat, forsaking what lies behindand reaching out to that which is before,we may run the way of your commandmentsand win the crown of everlasting joy;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.Amen.
