Risks, Resources, and Reassurance: A Call to Faith in Challenging Times
In this sermon, Fr. Geoff reflects on the Gospel of Matthew, exploring the risks of faith, the resources God provides, and the reassurance of Christ’s triumph. How does Christ’s ministry guide us amidst modern challenges, including societal pressures and personal darkness? Join us as we uncover the courage to stand firm in faith, the gifts God has given to each of us, and the hope of His ascended glory.
Transcript
Christ is baptized. I would never ever tell anyone in the church who to vote for in the elections, but if you want to put me and Father Nicholas and Subdeacon Patrick and Daniel and maybe others in the congregation into prison, then vote for the Labor government at the next local Victorian elections. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go home and read my weekly email. I've got three points today from our gospels from the readings: risks, resources, and reassurance.
In the gospel today, John the Baptist has come and prepared the way, and then he says, in those days, it says in those days—this is John, Matthew chapter 3—in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Then John baptizes Jesus, then Satan drives Jesus into the wilderness and tempts him, and Jesus overcomes his temptations, and then Jesus begins his ministry. The King of Kings starts setting up his kingdom openly on this Earth.
The first thing we read is that disaster struck John the Baptist. He was arrested and imprisoned by Herod the king. His crime was that he had publicly denounced Herod for sexual immorality. It's always been a problem. He had seduced his brother's wife, King Herod had, and made her his own wife after he put away his own wife that he was already married to. Later in Matthew 14, we read about what happened to St. John and that he was beheaded by King Herod, but that's not our focus for today.
But what a start to Jesus's ministry. The devil immediately launched a counterattack. He did not want Jesus's kingdom to get established and to grow on this Earth, and he used his servants in the state system who had the reins of power to work against Jesus and his kingdom. It's still the same today, and you'll know what I mean if you've read my weekly parish email in relation to the Victorian vilification bill, which could become law later this month.
But for Jesus, the time had come when he had to set up his kingdom, and so we read in Matthew 4:12, "He departed to Galilee." On the surface, it looks like the imprisonment of John was the reason that our Lord quickly moved away from the scene of persecution to the more calm and peaceful countryside region of Galilee. He became more publicly active there when his forerunner was put out of action by the state. St. John Chrysostom says that it was rather like the nighttime star gradually fading—that's John the Baptist—while the sun comes up and shines brighter in the morning.
We might be tempted to think that Jesus was motivated to move because of fear of what might happen if he stayed where he was or the desire to live in the countryside, but that's definitely not the case. He always moved under the guidance of God the Father who sent him and God the Holy Spirit who was with him, guiding him. As the pressure mounts on the church in the Western world today, some people will be guided to move away to more safer places, and some people will be guided to stay and serve where we are. God will guide us, and we must never give in to fear and self-pleasing, and we must never criticize someone else if they're led to do something different from what we are led to do.
So we read in Matthew 4:13-16, "And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.'" St. John Chrysostom points out here, if you read Psalm 23 or 22 in the Septuagint, "Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death," so we're walking even though it's dark, we're walking through the shadow of death. But these people weren't walking in the darkness; they sat down. They were in such despair they'd given up completely. They sat down in the darkness; they weren't even trying to walk in the darkness.
And the reason, the historical reason for this, is this part of Israel was invaded by the Assyrians in the 8th century after they had turned away from God and rebelled against him, and God brought judgment against them by using the Assyrians, and he really made this part of Galilee suffer, and they really never recovered. So the first place that Jesus goes is into this place of darkness. God's grace came to them. God took the initiative; they didn't. And it's true for so many of us that God takes the initiative with us. We're not looking for him, but he's looking for us all the time.
St. Matthew's gospel, of course, was written to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, so he uses lots of quotes from the Old Testament, and in this case, he quotes from Isaiah. He is showing that the movements of our King, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, are ordered according to divine prophecy. Leaving Nazareth, we're told, he came and dwelt in Capernaum. This was to fulfill that passage in the book of Isaiah. So Jesus's human journey through this world had been worked out before he was born. He went where the full knowledge that God the Father had revealed through His prophets in the Old Testament. He went where he was needed, even to the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali.
The great light mentioned in verse 16 went to confront the great darkness. Our Lord wasn't going after those who were glorying in their own light. This is why some people think, "You know, I'm okay. I don't need God. I don't need forgiveness. I'm living a good life. I don't need God." God doesn't go for those people. He goes for the people who are really struggling. They know they're in trouble. They know they're in despair. They know they can't do it on their own, and he goes to them, and he reveals himself to them. He's like a good shepherd looking for the lost sheep, finding those struggling in the darkness.
Some of you have heard of the Salvation Army. I'm sure you have. The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, founded it in 1865, a long time ago, in the East End of London. He wrote a book called "In Darkest England and the Way Out," and his whole plan was to go into the really worst areas in England where people were struggling the most with the gospel. He would find the worst sinner, he would convert that man first with the help of God and His Holy Spirit, and then the mission that he had for those poor people was underway as a good example for us all.
So Jesus comes with heavenly life, not to those who boast of their own lives and energy and success, but to those who are under conviction and who feel the shadow of death shutting them out from life and hope. The image of the great light here is very suggestive. In this picture of the gospel, in the region of the shadow of death, is a very graphic description of people weighed down under the power of sin and paralyzed by fear of condemnation. What a mercy to those who appear out of the reach of the usual means, to those who dwell by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. Jesus comes with power to enlighten and bring life. There's nobody here, there's nobody in this city of Melbourne, there's nobody in this country, there's nobody in this world who Jesus cannot reach with the light of the gospel. But we're part of that; we're part of this task of reaching people with light. It's a good reminder to us at the beginning of the year. This is why we're here: to bring good news to people who feel lost and are in despair. And we all need to pray, "Lord, come to me and cause me to know that great light, even for me in my darkness."
In Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'" Have we heard this before? It's the same message that St. John preached. Now, if, say, if Jesus had been afraid, that's why he moved, he might have changed his message to something more acceptable to the state, and this is a big temptation for us today. The state is slowly kind of trying to force the church to squeeze us into its mold. It thinks certain things about sexual ethics and so on and so on and is trying to force us to do this through the schools, and now they're coming through into the church with their new legislation. And the temptation is for us, in our fear, to change what we preach. But St. John preached, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Jesus preached, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." And we have to go on preaching, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." And what are we repenting of? It's all in the scriptures; it's all in the tradition of the church. It's very clear. It doesn't agree with what the state is trying to legislate sometimes, and we have to stick to what has been revealed to us and passed on to us. This is the challenge; this is the risk that we face.
But we have to start with ourselves. If we are to be united to be with God for eternity, we have to repent of the things that God reveals to us that are displeasing to him. It's very clear to us as we read the scriptures and understand the tradition of the church. May God give us the same courage that he gave to St. John the Baptist and to our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. The King is greater than the forerunner, St. John the Baptist, but he has the same message. Repentance is the demand of the law and of the gospel, the Old Testament law and of the gospel. And St. John is the connecting link between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He is the link between those two things. Immediate repentance is demanded because God's kingdom is established, and it demands turning from sin, and it starts with us. And of course, if we fall, then we come to confession. It's available Saturdays, Sundays, whenever we can, to get right with God. "Oh God, accept my repentance, accept our repentance of past sins as proof of our current loyalty. Amen."
Then Jesus, after having gone to Galilee, then he calls the first four fishermen, but that's a sermon for another day. But it's a good segue into today's epistle. In Ephesians 4:7 and following, we read, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore he says, 'When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.'" Jesus came, but now he's left. He ascended. This is what he's talking about in this passage. He ascended; he's no longer with us. From the Mount of Olives, Jesus has ascended in triumph to his throne in heaven after spending 40 days with his disciples, giving them plenty of evidence that he is really risen from the dead and passing on to them all that they needed to know to set up their mission, set out on their mission of love to the world. He's taken up from them in a cloud into heaven. He's left us. His voice of wisdom is silent for us; his seat at the table is empty. It would be easy for us to argue that he should have stayed; he shouldn't have gone. If it had been our choice, we would have begged him to stay, I think, until the end of the age. From our human perspective, it seems obvious that if he stayed, he would have been able to provide comfort, guidance, influence over rebellious elites, security for his followers, and spiritual awakening to millions.
So why did he leave? Why did he ascend? There are many benefits from his ascension. "When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to men." He gave gifts to men. To each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. To each one of us, every one of us. If Jesus was in Jerusalem, based in Jerusalem, it's a long way to Melbourne from Jerusalem. He is only over there; he'd be in his physical body. But now he's everywhere, and he's given each one of us his grace and his gifts. And he gave himself, it says. He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the church, for the work of ministry, for the edifying, for the building up of the body of Christ. So he's given us all gifts; he's given us all his grace. For what? To have a good time? To have a happy life? To get rich? No, to build up the church, to draw people into God's love, into union with him, into his love, out of their despair, out of their darkness. That's why he's given us his grace; that's why he's given us all these gifts. And there's many more gifts that are mentioned in this passage here.
So as we start this new year, we've got to remember our mission. Our mission here is not just to come and sing lovely songs on Sunday and hear good sermons, hopefully, God willing, on Sunday morning. But our mission is actually to shed the light of Christ out into this dark world. We've got a long way to go. I mean, what have we got here? 100, 200 people connected with this parish? There's only 36 million to go, so we've got a lot of work to do, and we've got to take this mission seriously, and that's what we're here for. And God, though, he gives us the resources. There are risks in this ministry, but he gives us the resources, he gives us the gifts, he gives us the grace, each one of us. So this year, occasionally, we might ask for volunteers to help with something. We might want more people singing in the choir; we might want more people helping with the putting up and taking down of the iconostases; we might want other things done. And if you feel, "Yeah, I could do that," maybe God is saying to you, "Maybe I should put my hand up and volunteer and step forward." All of you here have a place, a part to play in the ministry of the church, not just sitting there listening or singing, but being active too. So each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. No one's missed.
And then the last point: reassurance. The ascension of Christ is a source of reassurance for us all. It shows that Christ, who ascended into the lower parts of the earth, he went down into Hades, he humbled himself totally because he was murdered by the powers of this world under the guidance of the evil one. He has now ascended far above the heavens, filling all things and bringing joy to his followers. That's amazing; that's wonderful. It shows that Christ's triumph over the world, sin, death, and Satan is real. It demonstrates that he has defeated all forms of evil and has led captivity captive. Again, St. John Chrysostom says that he's captured the devil. The devil is on a leash; he can't do a lot of things that he used to do. But as we turn, as our culture turns away from God, the devil, it's a bit like—I used to be in the military, and if we had a fire burning at night, the animals would keep away, but as the fires turned down, as they sort of went out, the animals came in. And as the fires of Christianity go down in this nation, the evil one will come in again, and you can see that already just looking around some of the news stories, what's happening. We've got to light that fire again; we've got to get that light going and shining out into the world. Because Jesus is on the throne in heaven, but also, as well as capturing Satan and having him on a leash, he's also captured us. But we're willing captives, and the handcuffs or whatever you like that he has on us are love. It's love. We're bound to him by love, and that's how he captured us. We're willing captives, and he's taken us to heaven too. It shows that our prayers are worthwhile because Christ, our great high priest, presents our prayers to God, making them more effective. It assures us of our eternal inheritance. Christ's presence in heaven guarantees that our place in heaven is secure.
There are many other things that we could say, but that will do for this morning. When we come to the part in the liturgy where I come out and I say, "Let us lift up our hearts," remember that at that point, I look up, and for me, it helps. I think of Jesus on the throne, the ascended Christ. He's on his throne, and that gives me reassurance, it gives me hope, it gives me comfort as we struggle through this life. Maybe that would be helpful for you as well.
So there we have it: the risks, the resources, the reassurance. And I won't say again who you should vote for or who you shouldn't, but the risks are real. As you look at this passage here, Jesus, St. John the Baptist, he called four disciples. Three of them, all of those, were martyred. That's the kind of world we live in. They died for us so that we might get the light of the gospel. Only John was one of the four disciples that Jesus called who survived to old age, and he was in exile. So the risks are great, but the resources are there for us, and the reassurance is there all the time. So may God help us and strengthen us to do this.
Now, I want to finish with somebody in the congregation asking us to pray this morning for Father Josiah Trenham in California. If you've been watching the news, there's some terrible fires over there, and they're about 40 kilometers or 40 miles from where he lives at the moment, and he's asked everybody to pray, and he's asking people to repent as well. He thinks this could be partly a judgment of God on the state of California, and it's possible. He lives there; he's lived there all his life, so he knows what's going on in the state. So we're going to just finish now with this prayer, which he's actually written and has put on his podcast. If you haven't seen it, we might put it into this week's weekly email, and you'll be able to hear what he has to say. But it sounds pretty terrible. I think he said 10 people have died so far when he recorded, but tens of thousands of houses have been destroyed, so it's pretty bad. We know all about fires in Australia, so why don't we pray for our brothers and sisters over there in California at the moment? So we just stand, and we'll just have this prayer now before we move on with the service.
Oh Lord, our God, keep our cities and every city and land from the ravages of fire and ruinous wind. Strengthen our firefighters and emergency workers, especially those in the Californian situation at the moment, who labor heroically to preserve life, limb, and dwellings from destruction. Protect from harm those who are in danger. Draw near, Heavenly Father, and comfort those who have suffered terrible loss and devastation. Uphold the grieving and provide for the evacuated, displaced, and bereaved. Calm the winds and send to us gentle rains, send to them gentle rains to quench the conflagrations. Visit them all with repentance, and us too, and renew our faith. Hear our cry, oh God, our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and those who are in the midst of calamity, and be gracious, be gracious, oh Master, upon our sins and have mercy on us, for you are a merciful God and love mankind, and to you we ascribe glory, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Christ is baptized.