...
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Through
the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and
save us. Amen. Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury
of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every
impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy One, visit us and heal our infirmities for
Your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy (three times).
June
29, 2014 Sunday Sermon, Peter and Paul
Introductory
Scripture
Exodus 20:2, 12
I am the Lord your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Honor your father and your mother: that your
days may be long on the land which the Lord your God gives
you.
Psalm 119:12, 18
Blessed are You, O Lord:
teach me Your Statutes.
Open my eyes, so that
I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law.
The
Epistle
2 Corinthians 11:21-33; 12:1-9
I speak concerning
reproach, as though we were weak. If anyone
is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So
am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more.
I am in labors more
abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. From the Jews I received five times, forty
stripes save one. Thrice I was beaten
with rods. Once I was stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day, I spent in the deep. I was on many journeys: in perils of waters,
in perils of robbers, in perils from my own countrymen, in perils from the
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the
sea, in perils among false brothers, in weariness and painfulness, on watch
often, in hunger and thirst, in fasts often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are external, that
which comes on me daily, the care for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I do not burn?
If I must glory, I
will glory of the things which concern my infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which is blessed for evermore, knows that I do not lie.
In Damascus the
governor under king Aretas guarded the city of the damascenes with a garrison, seeking
to arrest me. I was let down outside the
wall through a window in a basket, and escaped his hands.
It is not expedient for
me to glory about myself. I will come to
visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew
a man in Christ more than fourteen years ago, (Whether in the body, I cannot tell;
or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows.). This man was caught up to the third heaven. I do not know how this man (Whether in the body,
or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows.) was caught up into paradise, and
heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to speak.[1]
I will glory over such
a person: yet, I will not glory about myself, except in my infirmities: for though
I might desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; because I must tell the truth. So now I must show restraint, lest anybody should
think of me above what he sees me to be, or above what he hears from me.
Lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above
measure.[2] I begged the Lord three times to take this affliction
away from me. He said to me, “My grace is
sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will prefer to glory
in my infirmities, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The
Gospel
Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus came to
the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do men say
that I, the Son of Man, am?” They replied,
“Some say that you are John the Baptist; some, Elijah; others, Jeremiah, or one
of the prophets.
He asked them, “Who do
you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered,
“You art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus responded to
him, “Blessed are you, Simon Jonah’s son: for flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father in heaven. I
say to you as well, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church. The gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. Whatever you shall
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever
you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
The
Homily
This is a busy week. The Matins Gospel honors Mary Magdalen, about
whom we sing, in the beautiful hymn, “I Come to the Garden Alone.”
It is also the third Sunday after
Pentecost, as we continue to remember the great work of the Holy Ghost among us
as He leads us into all truth.
It is the Sunday of Peter and Paul,
about which we will have more to say, very soon.
Monday introduces the Apostles Fast.
Then Friday, Independence Day is upon
us.
The common theme of all of these
events is freedom: for Christ lived and died, then prayed that the Father would
send the Holy Ghost, thereby setting us free indeed.
Peter will be the first to receive “the
keys of the kingdom of heaven.” We hide
behind theological constructs with little success. The pronouns are singular. It is Peter who is named, and Peter who is
delegated. Peter will receive (and does)
receive the keys first. The text does
not say that the keys will be delegated to a plurality. Nor does the text say that no one else will
ever receive the keys. The text also
says that the keys are for binding and loosing.
Nowadays, we would say locking and unlocking. In general such locking and unlocking would
apply to prison chains, and to doors or gates.
Nowhere, does the text say that the keys are about rule, and the only
hint of leadership is that Peter will receive the keys first. So we must look elsewhere to increase our
understanding.
We soon learn that Peter unlocks the
doors of the Jewish Church with the baptism of around three thousand people in
one day: obviously, Peter had a lot of help after his sermon (Acts 2). Shortly after that Peter unlocks the doors of
the Gentile Church (Acts 10 and 11).
In Acts 7 we learn that Stephen has
received a delegation of the keys, but it appears that he is casting the wicked
into prison, rather than unlocking their chains. The principal difference is that Stephen’s
audience refused to listen, except for one man.
Even before Peter unlocks the doors
of the Gentile Church, the keys are delegated to Philip who unlocks the doors
of the Ethiopic Church (Acts 8). We
remember that Ethiopia has been a Jewish kingdom since the days of Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10).
The last part of Acts is devoted to
the work of Paul. Paul is delegated the
keys for the purpose of leading three evangelism tours, during which he unlocks
the doors of new churches in several Greek cities, in Rome, and most likely in
Spain and in Great Britain. However,
when he seeks to go north, farther into Asia, he is forbidden to go (Acts
16:6).
Because of this historic
development, Peter is remembered as the Apostle to the Jews; while Paul is
remembered as the Apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13).
Elsewhere we learn that Andrew unlocks
the doors of the churches of northern Asia; while Thomas unlocks the doors of
the churches of India. It is not
necessary that we multiply examples.[3]
Even so, when we view the very first
ecumenical council, the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, it is James who presides
rather than Peter.
We conclude that the Holy Ghost
rules over The Church. Any number of men
can be called to preside in His honor.
The delegation of the keys applies primarily to gifts of evangelism,
which may be held by wide numbers of people at the same time. The Apostles and the bishops that succeeded them
enjoy a wide range of collegiality: indeed they are commanded to wash each
other’s feet (Matthew 20:24-28; John 13:12-17).
Even so, from the record of Acts, we freely concede that the bishop of
the See of Peter and Paul, should have the first place of honor in presiding over
the bishops as first among equals. What
is the duty of the presidential honor?
The president announces the conclusion of the will of the bishops,
usually expressed by voting, and first proclaims it to the world officially.
[1] This
is a perfect description of John’s Revelation, but that idea presents
chronological problems for us.
[2] Since
Paul was struck blind because he murdered Christians, God reminded Paul of how
and why he was saved, by afflicting him with weak eyesight. This prevented Paul from becoming prideful
over the magnificent ways God used him.
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_(Christian)
[4] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations,
please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely
received, and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
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