AUTHORITY AND THE CENTURION

THE SERMON

The preacher, whether Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, now addresses the People,

            all standing.

From the 7^th chapter of

the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke,

beginning at the 8^th verse.

A section of the Gospel of the Day is read.

For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it."

When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."

Upon conclusion of the reading is said,

The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.             St. John 4:23.

The People sit and listen to the Word of God proclaimed.

I.   Introduction – Thesis, the Beginning

Faith under authority:  I can understand that.

 

Let’s see what St. Jerome has to say about these verses:

“As we praise the faith of the Centurion, in that he believes that his servant could be healed by the Savior, so also he reveals his own humility, in this, that he considered himself unworthy that the Lord should enter his house.  Hence:  And the Centurion making answer said:  Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof.” 

I am always impressed by the Centurions in the scriptures.  They seem to be just a cut above.  Perhaps this is a Memorial Day moment.

There are prayers the celebrant of the Holy Eucharist says each time we prepare for the service that are not in the Book of Common Prayer and are not said so you can hear them:

“Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed (strike).”  This is repeated three times.  Jerome points this out for us. 

In humility, knowing that we are not worthy by any thing we have done, we ask the great physician to heal us and to come to our altar to bless our offering.  We do this in steadfast faith.

II.  Sermon Body – The Detail, supported from the Bible, Antiquity, and Reason

            A. First Point – The Glory of God, His Greatness

This is a very important moment in Our Lord’s ministry on earth.  What has this pagan Roman officer done?  He has given us the relationship of the Son, Jesus, to the Father, and the relationship of the Son to the Holy Ghost.  This is the authority over us.  The Son is sent by the Father and is given the Father’s authority.  The Son sends the Holy Ghost and is give Our Lord’s authority.  It is the Trinity.  It is a God of Love.

And even more importantly for us to understand is that God is the only Authority.  All else is below our God:  nations, governments, councils, or even myself.  My faith is always under the authority of God.  Always!

We all have other authorities we are under.  Our government sets laws as baselines for our protection and societal order.  My wife sets the authority in our home.  My Bishop grants me the authority to act as a priest.  And in God we have the authority of our faith.

In 1 Kings we heard today:  “He said, ‘O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart.’”  We are servants!

There truly is no God like ours.  We are so blessed that God is of love, or should I say love is God.

            B. Second Point – Our Iniquity, The Undeserving

Let us recall what we heard in Galatians today:  “Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  God is THE authority in my faith.

Here are a few questions, and my short answers, that I get asked again and again:

Do you really believe in God and that God is a Trinity?  YES!

Do you really believe that your God is the only power and glory?  YES!

Do you really believe you are not worthy of salvation?  YES!

Do you really believe in the Real Presence?  YES!

I don’t keep a faith to please people.  I am pleased to keep a faith with others, like your selves, and I do it for Him.

            C. Third Point – The Thanksgiving, Mercy Given

Today we celebrate the Holy Day of Corpus Christi.  It is also known as, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  It is a time to share our belief in the “Real Presence.”

Allow me to read from 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”

Queen Elizabeth I (or some say John Doane) wrote a snappy little poem to guide us in our faith in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist:

"Twas God the Word that spake it,

He took the Bread and brake it:

and what that Word did make it,

That I believe and take it."

And as we heard in the Psalm today:  “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.”

III. Conclusion – Reiterate the Sermon Points

Faith under authority:  I can live with that.  If, in my free will, I give my love and heart to God, accepting His authority, seeking His salvation, I will come to know His gift, His greatness and power, His life everlasting.  Amen.  AMEN.

The sentence from the Gospel of the Day is reread.

When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."

Upon conclusion of the reading is said,

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore.                                                             2 Corinthians 13:14.

The Sermon is concluded.

In Christ's love, Fr. Robert Pax

TRINITY HERESIES

Dear Priests: The Top 5 Heresies to Avoid This Trinity Sunday

by Brantly C. Millegan - May 28, 2015

Trinity Sunday is a special day each year when Christians are called to especially dwell on that great mystery of the Christian faith: the Trinity. There is only one God, but that one God has revealed himself to us as eternally existing as three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of the Trinity is arguably the most important doctrine of the Church, since it is regarding the very nature of God. It’s also one of the most confusing and misunderstood. So Trinity Sunday is a great time for priests to clear up misconceptions among their flock.

So please don’t add to the confusion by accidentally preaching heresy!

I have been disappointed more than once since joining the Catholic Church 5 years ago to hear Trinitarian heresies preached from the pulpit by well-meaning clergy on Trinity Sunday.

While there are many ways to go wrong with the Trinity, here are 5 common heresies to make sure you avoid.

Heresy #1) Denying the personhood of the Holy Spirit

I once heard a clergyman preach that the Trinity was “two whos and a what.” Actually, the Trinity is three whos: the Holy Spirit is a person just as much as the Father and Son. He is not a “force,” and he is not simply “God’s actions in the world.” He is a full and distinct person.

This is easy to forget since his name isn’t as personal as “Father” and “Son,” and he is often represented with non-personal things, such as the dove. All the more reason it’s important that priests don’t add to this confusion.

Heresy #2) Modalism

Modalism is an ancient trinitarian heresy which said that the three persons of the Trinity are just three modes or masks that God switches between. Sometimes God is in Father mode, sometimes he switches to Son mode, and other times he’s in Holy Spirit mode – but he’s only in one mode at a time.

This is usually preached accidentally when the teacher compares the Trinity to a person having multiple roles. A man may act as one person’s employee, the teacher says, another person’s husband, and another person’s father.

This certainly simplifies things, but it’s also wrong: the orthodox teaching is that all three persons of the Trinity exist eternally and concurrently. The persons are not just different jobs or forms God has.

Heresy #3) The God of the Old Testament is just the Father

The Son and the Holy Spirit are revealed most clearly in the New Testament, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t around before that. The three persons of the Trinity, including the Son and the Holy Spirit, exist eternally and act together in perfect harmony.

That means that the God revealed in the Old Testament is the same God who was Incarnated in the person of Jesus. The God whose words and actions are recorded in the Old Testament is the same God who, after assuming a human nature, preached the Sermon on the Mount.

Heresy #4) Tritheism

Just as it’s important to emphasize the three persons, it’s also imperative to make it clear that Catholics only believe there is one God. Indeed, the first line of the Creed is, “We believe in one God…”

Be careful in your language. The three persons of the Trinity are divine, but they are not three Gods. Rather, they share the same divine substance (or, as the Creed says about the Father and Son, are “consubstantial”).

Three persons, one divine substance. That’s language approved by the Church.

Heresy #5) Dropping or altering gendered language

Divine revelation never refers to God as “Mother, Daughter, and Spirit.” And while it can be accurate, Scripture also doesn’t give us the formula “Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.” Scripture gives God’s name as “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Yes, the first person of the Trinity is named in Scripture (by Jesus no less!) as “Father.” Though motherly language is occasionally used to describe God, he is never given the name “Mother.” The Second person of the Trinity is called “Son,” and in assuming a human nature was a man.

Of course, God as God has no gender (though God as a human in Jesus does). But in addition to the fact that these terms were revealed by God himself to describe himself, this language has important theological meaning as well.

God is Father in his relationship to creation, since God created the world apart from himself (similar to how a human father is involved in the procreation of his children). The feminine principle, on the other hand, is receptive, and so is identified with creation (“Mother Earth”) and the Church (“Mother Church”).

There’s more that could be said here, but suffice it to say that God knew what he was doing when he described himself with male language. So let’s just stick with that.

So what should you preach?

One of the greatest articulations of the doctrine of the Trinity is the Athanasian Creed. Though named after the great 4th century defender of Trinitarian orthodoxy and hero of the faith St. Athanasius, most scholars today believe the creed was written a few centuries after his death. But regardless of who wrote it, it is a clear and thorough profession of the faith approved and used by the Church for more than a millenium.

Here it is:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence.

For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite.

So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity; to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; So are we forbidden by the Catholic religion; to say, There are three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none; neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created; but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten; but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal.

So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, let him thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation; that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess; that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Essence of the Father; begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the Essence of his Mother, born in the world. Perfect God; and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father as touching his Manhood.

Who although he is God and Man; yet he is not two, but one Christ. One; not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh; but by assumption of the Manhood by God. One altogether; not by confusion of Essence; but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man; so God and Man is one Christ;

Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the God the Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies; And shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.

In Christ's love, Fr. Robert Pax