Sunday Sermon

THE Saviour of the world, whom, according to the prediction of the prophet Isaias, men were one day to see on this Earth “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God,” has already come. We have not only seen him conversing among men, but we have also seen him suffering and dying for the love of us. Let us, then, this morning consider the love which we owe to Jesus Christ at least through gratitude for the love which he bears to us. In the first point we shall consider the greatness of the love which Jesus Christ has shown to us; and in the second we shall see the greatness of our obligations to love him.

A sermon on how compassion changed the woman with the crooked spine, and how the synagogue ruler's religiosity resisted kindness. Compassion should always win.

As an introduction to this sermon, let me qoute St. Augustine sermon delivered to the penitents: "What is it that you are doing? You know very well-you are doing nothing! What's the use of your humbling yourselves, if you don't change your behavior? So many years I have been baptizing so many people, and all for nothing, if there are none among them who keep what they have received, and take care of what they have heard. God forbid I should believe that! It would be better for me to stop being your bishop, if that's how it is. But I hope, I believe that there are such people.

After preaching to and baptizing literally thousands of people from all around he is now bound up and seemingly helpless, while in the mean time the one that came after him is rising to stardome, as folks are flocking around him just to hear him speak or perhaps see him perform a miracle. John knew his role, and even confessed it in times past, now he sits looking at the fact that after all he did to prepare the way for the Messiah, he ends up waiting for his execution. At this time he sends his disciples to go ask Jesus “Are you the one who should come, are you really the messiah, are you really the one sent from God, or should we be looking for someone else?” Think about it: this same John pointed Jesus out of a crowd of folks by the Jordan River, saying ‘behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’, and now he is questioning if Jesus is really who he claimed to be. Was he doubting or was there another reason for the question. Father Todd gives a great perspective and insight on John the Bap

Poverty and wealth are very relative terms, and people with riches can be poor, and people with little wealth can be rich. Jesus says to the church of Laodicea in "You say, I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor blind and naked." But to the church in Smyrna He says, "I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich!" Today's gospel reading tell us of another rich man poor man situation where there was more to the story then meets the eye!

Some years ago a murderer was sentenced to death. The murderer’s brother, to whom the State was deeply indebted for former services, besought the governor of the State for his brother’s pardon. The pardon was granted, and the man visited his brother with the pardon in his pocket. “What would you do,” he said to him, “if you received a pardon?” “The first thing I would do,” he answered, “is to track down the judge who sentenced me, and murder him; and the next thing I would do is to track down the chief witness, and murder him.” The brother rose, and left the prison with the pardon in his pocket. Because of what this man had done, death penalty was waiting on him. The opportunity was granted to him, but it called for repentance. Since there could be no repentance, there also could be no pardon.

In tribulations God enriches his beloved souls with the greatest graces. Behold, St. John in his chains comes to the knowledge of the works of Jesus Christ: “When John had heard in prison the works of Christ.” Great indeed are the advantages of tribulations. The Lord sends them to us, not because he wishes our misfortune, but because he desires our welfare.

Christians have their own "Homeland Security" for their defense from Fear and Anxiety in the present distress because "Our citizenship is in Heaven.” Our Security lies in God.

All of us are guilty of committing many types of sin. There are sins of omission - things we don’t do which we should, and sins of commission - things we do which we shouldn’t. There are sins of the flesh and of the spirit, open sins and secret sins, and so-called "respectable" sins. It was a respectable sin that Jesus graphically pointed out in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Lord has fixed a day, called in the Scriptures "the day of the Lord," on which the Eternal Judge will make known his power and majesty. ”The Lord,"says the Psalmist, "shall be known when he executeth judgment." (Psalms 9:17) On this text St. Bernard writes: ”The Lord, who is now unknown while he seeks mercy, shall be known when he executes justice." The prophet Sophonias calls the day of the Lord ”a day of wrath a day of tribulation and distress a day of calamity and misery."

We live in a time in which people do not stand in awe before God. We are so busy that we forget him. We are so consumed with our own agendas that we hardly think about God. Everything in life is meaningless without God. His ultimate purpose is to show that we can live a meaningful life only when we live it in a right relationship to God.

In His role as physician of souls and bodies, Jesus would heal in that particular order. First, he would forgive sins, and only then perform a miracle of physical healing, sometimes seemingly almost as an afterthought. Clearly, reconciliation with the Father was, and is, infinitely more important than a return to good health.

If you have Jesus' presence in your life, you will experience God's divine order. You'll have a peace and a calm, with no fretting or anxiety, no running to and fro to seek guidance, no sense that the bottom is falling out. You'll live at rest, knowing God has everything under control!

ALL sins are hateful in the sight of God; but the sin of blasphemy ought more properly to be called an abomination to the Lord. Every mortal sin, as the Apostle says, dishonours God. ”By transgression of the law, thou dishonourest God."(Romans 2: 23.) Other sins dishonour God indirectly by the violation of his law; but blasphemy dishonours him directly by the profanation of his most holy name. Hence St. Chrysostom teaches, that no sin exasperates the Lord so much as the sin of blasphemy against his adorable name. Dearly beloved Christians, allow me, then, to show you, first, the great enormity of the sin of blasphemy; and secondly, the great rigour with which God punishes it.

Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house. There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal Artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it." It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life. It would be nice if forgiveness was as easy as cutting down an old tree in the front yard… if you have lived at all you have experienced injustices that defy your best efforts at mercy and forgiveness.

When Jesus spoke of taking up the cross, there was nothing mystical to them about the idea. They immediately pictured a poor, condemned soul walking along the road carrying the instrument of his execution on his own back. A man who took up his cross began his death march, carrying the very beam on which he would hang. For a disciple of Christ to take up his cross is for him to be willing to start on a death march. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be willing, in His service, to suffer the indignities, the pain, and even the death of a condemned criminal.

It is interesting to see how people who come from nothing can become something. It is encouraging to see how hard work can pay off. Their stories are encouraging, instructive, and inspiring. Equally interesting and instructive, though, can be the opposite: riches to rags stories. It is just as common to hear stories about those who had it all and then lost it all. Luke shows us both sides of this in our parable as he builds on his great reversal theme. We see a rags-to-riches story and riches-to-rags one that serves to warn and instruct!

To live in this world of evil, sin, and temptation you need all the protection and help you can get. The bible says we need the whole armor of God. The spiritual warfare that we face day in and day out can ware down your defenses. Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. The Christian armor is made to be worn; daily in all life’s situations. There is no putting on our armor until we have planned our warfare, and finished our course.

"How great is God’s goodness! When sinners cast themselves at the feet of the Lord with humility and with sorrow for having offended him, he instantly pardons and embraces them. Behold the sermon for this day, in which I will show, first, the danger to which he who is in the state of sin, and defers his conversion, is exposed; and secondly, the remedy to be adopted by him who is in sin, and wishes to save his soul."

Curiosity killed the cat. At least that’s what people say when you’re asking questions they aren’t comfortable answering. Is curiosity a bad thing then? Not necessarily. But curiosity can be dangerous. Yes, it’s important that we exercise our curiosity correctly. That’s especially true in regard to the soul.