2
August, AD 2009
Eighth Sunday after Trinity
“By their fruits”
INFSHG+
Ye shall know them
by their fruits. (St. Matt. 7:16a)
If you stop to consider these two passages from Holy Scripture, you will find that you can describe them both as
being deeply concerned with the work we do and the harvest we reap. In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans,
he says that ‘ye have received the Spirit of adoption” meaning that the Romans who have accepted Christ as their
Lord and Savior have reaped a harvest of family tie to the God of Creation. It used to be they were in
a ‘spirit of bondage’ and they lived their lives in fear. Roman religion, such as it was, had
little to do with consoling Romans for death. Far from it, they were expected to be virile in the face
of death and go to their ends in glorious warfare, giving up their life for the Roman state. Their religion
was not directed to making them better people or preparing them for their inevitable mortality, but rather to make them peaceable
and pliable citizens, dedicated to and subjects of the civic state. If they were also prosperous and renowned,
then this was not a problem they thought much about. There was the risk of assassination or execution,
but otherwise, being a prosperous citizen was the ultimate resonant joy of any Roman. These people were
happy to spiritually recline in such a facile and self-serving faith. But, what about the plebeians and
the slaves, what kind of value could they place on being peaceable citizens? They bore the brunt of this
life and thus lived their lives in quiet desperation at best. The Roman state religion had nothing to offer
them. Christ Jesus filled that desperate void for them, having proven there is life after death and having
established beyond all doubt that, under the power of God, humanity can be returned to life. The harvest
could be rich and eternal and was to be found only in faith and reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What did this harvest accomplish in these peoples’
lives? It changed their cynicism and fatalism about this life into recognition that there can be no ultimate
justice among men, no matter how well they intend to pursue justice’s sake. They recognized the reason
why life seemed so unjust: men seek their own way whenever they can, and if they acquire the power to do so, they exercise
that power at the expense of whomever they choose. This used to make them angry and resentful, but now
they recognized it as the fruits of those who refuse to subject themselves to their true and rightful King, Jesus Christ.
This is what happens when a man self-deifies himself and those around him bow down and empower that delusion.
Such a man will not care about what he does to others: they do not matter enough to him, nor are they truly human enough
in his eyes. Such a man can be only a petty tyrant, plaguing his family and friends with his presumption.
His slaves and employees could see through his selfishness to the selflessness of Christ and know that Christ will
one day take them to himself, heal all their wounds and afflictions and ultimately make them perfect. Their
selfish human master can only make their days miserable, he cannot undo them entirely and whatever he can do, Christ can overrule
and undo. So the oppressed grew in faith, peace and joy, no matter how evil their days were.
We can have a lot of sympathy for their plight.
Our own days are fraught with pain and affliction. We contend against the ordinary travails of daily
life, just as always, but then perverse men and women, who have embraced a doctrine of death and power, have decided to enforce
their unholy and ungodly doctrines on the rest of us, making us part and partner of their plans. They say
they only want to help, that their only purpose is to relieve the sick, heal the wounded and feed the hungry.
Well and good: that is a duty incumbent on all mankind. But when God calls us to relieve the sick,
heal the wounded and feed the hungry, He means us to dig into our own resources and provide for the needy from our own hands.
He does not mean for us to go next door, stick up the neighbor and provide for the needy out of our neighbor’s
cash box. How one wishes that such a plain fact could be spoken to those in power, if only to force them
to say something to try to change the subject.
But what will be the fruits if those in power succeed in expropriating those who have?
Will they actually end sickness, injury or want? It will never be so. We know
only one Person capable of multiplying what we have in order to provide for those who have not: Jesus Christ.
So long as He has not returned, then only through His power can any of us do anything for those in need and we certainly
cannot end any of the afflictions in the world. If we provide for this one, then circumstances will turn
against that one and our work will have to begin all over again. And if we agree that stealing each other’s
property to give it away is somehow just and merciful, then we are going to find that nobody has anything and we will all
be in desperate want. We will only succeed in destroying ourselves and everyone around us.
That is the fruit of seeking to do God’s work and ignoring every commandment He has laid down. That
is what will happen if what is planned by today’s powerful ever comes to pass.
But even with that, remember that we have hope. We
cleave to Christ Jesus and we believe that He will care for every sheep in His flock. That means that,
whatever happens, our faith in Him will sustain us to our end, however it comes. We will be saved and brought
from this very imperfect life into the perfect one He has prepared for us. Remember that every purpose
and every oath will have its proper harvest. Seek Christ so that your harvest will be as full of joy as
you could ever hope for.
+And now, unto God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all might
and majesty, power, dominion and glory, both this day and every day, world without end. Amen.
