Grace and Peace to you my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Amen. 

Have you ever been around a person whose emotions could suddenly switch on you, where at one moment they were happy and all of a sudden they do a hard flip and become very angry? Now I’m not talking about someone whose emotions changes frequently, I’m talking about someone who is capable of these hard switches. It catches you off guard, doesn’t it? Now, what about a person whose emotions rarely changes and has a good head on their shoulders, but retains the capacity to make these hard switches. They are usually calm, and then they are all of a sudden angry. Such anger would throw us off and make us wonder what just happened? What set this usually calm person off? Did I do something wrong? What happened? 

A personal example, when I was in college training to be an officer, as a senior, I was inspecting my fellow younger Soldiers as they conducted leadership training through obstacle lanes. I’m on a raised platform overlooking multiple individual courses, each with their little huddle of Soldiers, one appointed as the graded leader of said course. And as I was overlooking I hear from one group, their leader talking in a raised voice and with some choice language. This Soldier is a friend of mine and usually does not act this way; he is usually kind and mild mannered, but now he is acting belligerent. I guess it was either the lack of food or the stress of being graded, but his conduct was shocking. 

After seeing this, I responded by also raising my voice and ordered this Soldier to calm down, to stand down, to cool his head off. If seeing this Soldier’s conduct was shocking, my reaction must have been a hurricane; for after I said that, the whole field went quiet. The said Soldier most especially was quiet, and went to the side and cool his head off. Eventually, training continued as usual. 

After this exercise, my Lieutenant Colonel told me in her office that that was the first time she has ever seen me visibly angry and raise my voice. She was in shock too, for here is an inspiring chaplain who is usually shy and quiet mannered projecting his anger at a Soldier who is acting up. She was glad that I had this authoritative side, but she honestly had no clue I had it in me. 

It is this kind of incident that Peter finds himself in Scripture. Just minutes ago Jesus is praising Peter for acknowledging that Jesus is Christ. Jesus proclaims that the Father has truly blessed Peter, that from here on out Peter was to be the Rock on which Christ’s Church was to be built on, that the keys to heaven were Peter’s, and that he was giving the power to bind and loose. Jesus said all of this, and in a matter of minutes Jesus called Peter Satan! 

What happened? What caused this extreme shift in emotions? One minute he praises Peter, the next he calls Peter Satan. And imagine the emotions Peter is experiencing? Probably fear and shock. What happened? 

Right after Jesus praises Peter, he starts to talk about his death. After hearing this Peter couldn’t take it anymore, pulls Jesus to the side, and starts to rebuke his Rabbi, his Master, his God. It is because of this rebuke that Jesus responded with such vicious anger, “Get behind me, Satan!” Now when Peter pulled Jesus to the side he did so out of the kindness of his heart. He had concern for his Lord who is talking about how he must suffer and be killed. Peter loved Jesus deeply and did not want to see him depart, let alone suffer. Peter truly had good intentions, but what about the famous quote, “the path to Hell is paved with good intentions?” Just because Peter had good intentions, just because he acted out of love, does not mean his actions were truly Good, Godly even. In fact they weren’t. We know this because Jesus told Peter that his mind wasn’t set on things of God, but on things of Man, and it is because of this mindset that Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” The fact that Peter had good intentions does not mean much. The fact that Peter acted out of kindness and love does not mean much. The fact that Peter wished for Jesus not to suffer but live does not mean much. Peter was still a puppet of Satan; Satan, who was using Peter in order to move Jesus away from fulfilling his role, fulfilling Scripture, and obeying His Father’s commands. Jesus had to suffer and be killed, it was foretold in Isaiah, and, instead of setting his mind on human things, he set his mind on Godly things and was obedient to his own death. 

I am reminded of the multiple times in Scripture, for example from our reading in Romans, where we are told to live in the world, but not of the world, or, “Do not be conformed to this world.” To be conformed to this world is to act and think upon the things of Man. Such things that are worldly, things that are of Man, humane things, includes the desire to see others not suffer, to protect each other, the desire to see one’s neighbor or family or teacher live. There are many things that are worldly and appear to be good. But that is just it, they appear to be good. For what if your desire to prevent someone you love from suffering prevents them from fulfilling their desire to proclaim the Gospel? What if your desire to protect someone inhibits their desire to worship God and receive the Sacraments? What if your desire to save someone’s life hinders their desired ability to obey God? In such cases, these good intentions are not things of God, but simply things of Man, and if said someone was Jesus then he would most certainly say, “Get behind me, Satan!” 

Jesus had a mission, He was sent not only to teach and to perform miracles, he was sent to fulfill Scripture by dying a most horrific and painful death so that through his suffering and death he may take on all of our sins and shove them into Hell. He died for our sins so that we may not die for our sins. He went to Hell, so that we won’t go to Hell. Someone had to pay for our sins, and Jesus came to be the innocent slaughtered Lamb sacrificed so that we wouldn’t go to Hell but instead live in Heaven with Him the now and forever Risen Son. 

So when Satan spoke through Peter, trying to get Jesus off this mission, to disobey God, of course Jesus was furious. But he was also furious for Peter’s sake. For when Peter thought he was acting out of love, he was acting as a pawn of Satan, but Jesus who was acting out of anger was acting out of true love towards His servant. Jesus just blessed Peter, and now Satan is abusing His most trusted ally on Earth. Thus, for Peter’s sake, Jesus was furious and commanded Satan, not Peter, to go away. Get out of the one whom I building my Church on! 

It is so interesting how in a matter of minutes both God and Satan spoke through Peter. One time God speaks through Peter, proclaiming that Jesus was Christ, the next Satan is speaking through Peter trying to save Jesus from his fate. The first was a thing of God, the other a thing of Man. But speaking of things of God, what is a thing of God? Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” What does this mean? Quite simply, to follow and embrace and obey God no matter the cost. Such a thing is truly a thing of God for this means you are willing to give up your life for God’s sake, or that you have what the world would view as an extreme form of courageous faith; the extreme courage to stay true to your faith even if that leads to death; the courage to go through trials and tribulations such as the ones Job went through and still hold on to your faith in God and follow Him. 

Jesus took up his own cross and died so that we may be saved through Him. In like manner, we must be willing to embrace the cost of following in Jesus’ footsteps. If we truly wish to set our minds on things of God we must be willing to deny ourselves and, like Jesus, be willing to carry our own cross, even if that means dying for Jesus’ name sake. 

Such a thing is scary, I understand, as a Chaplain I talk with Soldiers quite a bit about death and the willingness to die in order to preserve the freedoms of all Americans. And as Christians, to look death in the face without fear, to do such while following God, such is a daunting task. So I understand the fear. 

There is a cost to following the Gospel and obeying God. We don’t preach a Prosperity Gospel, unlike some conmen. No, we preach a costly Gospel, one that is hated by the world, one that is mocked whenever a preacher or laity die, one that leads many a great men to their deaths. Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. Nero, ruler of Rome, ordered a mass genocide against Christians. Christians are ruthlessly killed for their faith today by, for example, Islamic extremists or Marxist regimes. Throughout history there are many a Christians who went on mission trips and died from some foreign disease, knowing full well that they most likely will get such a life threatening disease. One, for example, is St. Damien the Patron Saint for Leprosy, Outcasts, and Hawaii, who in the late 19th century conducted a mission trip to the Kingdom of Hawaii, before it became a state, to spread the 

Gospel and to help treat those suffering from leprosy. At that time the Kingdom forced quarantined all who had leprosy, through an act in order to prevent the spread, on one of the islands, believing the illness of being fatal, incurable, and highly contagious. In response, Damien volunteered to be a missionary to this island of Hawaii, to serve the colony of leprosy, knowing full well he would contract it. And he did, but that did not stop him and he boldly continued his mission work till his death due to said leprosy. 

So there is a cost to boldly following God, but know this, no matter what happens to you because of your faith, whether that is through virus or violence, Jesus the Lord our God who obeyed the Father unto death on the cross for our sake, and rose from the grave, will never leave you nor forsake you but continue to bless you, save you, and open there doors to eternal life in Heaven for you. 

Let us pray, 

Lord God, we come to you with humble hearts asking that you provide for us the amazing courage to not only deny ourselves, but to take up our own crosses to follow you and your every commandment regardless of the cost, for we wish to be conformed not by this world, but by your will and to have our minds set on Godly things. We ask this in your most holy name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR JUNE 21, 2020 PENTECOST 3 

LAY READER: Linda Holcomb 

THE FIRST LESSON: 1st SAMUEL 16:1-7 

THE WORD OF THE LORD 

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 

HERE ENDS THE READING OF THE FIRST LESSON 

PSALMODY: PSALM 139:1-18 

P O Lord, you have searched me and known me! C You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 

P You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. C Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 

P You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. C Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 

P Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? C If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 

P If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, C even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 

P If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” C even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 

P For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. C I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 

P My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. C Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

P How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! C If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 

THE SECOND LESSON: HEBREWS 4:12-14 

THE WORD OF THE LORD 

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Jesus the Great High Priest. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

HERE ENDS THE READING OF THE SECOND LESSON 

THE GOSPEL: ST. MATTHEW 7:21-23 

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 

HERE ENDS TODAY’S GOSPEL READING

Pastor Chris Boyd Sermon Sunday 9/06/2020

Grace and Peace to you my brothers and sisters in Christ, Amen.

   “Who do you say I am?”

   Throughout the Old Testament, there are many who have proclaimed God. They proclaimed His might, His power, His creation, they proclaimed who God is. The prophets did this on behalf of God who first proclaimed Himself to them. The Judges did this. The Kings did this. In fact King David did this so much that we have an entire Book filled with songs of praise to our Lord, Psalms. There is no shortage of holy proclamations about our Father in Heaven. 

   In the New Testament, the tradition continues, and Paul, the author of many of the letters found in the New Testament, was no stranger to proclaiming the greatness of the Father. He, like his many predecessors, glorified the greatness of the Creator and His awesome power and grace and mercy. But Paul went one step further; in Romans he proclaimed this:

   “ 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to [even] them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”

   Paul went one step further and proclaimed quite clearly that all believe in God, that there is no such thing as a true atheist, but rather those who choose to exchange the Truth for a lie. In a sense, he is proclaiming that all are secretly like the prophets in that all are subconsciously aware of the greatness of the Father. Yet, because of the complete corruption of sin within our lives we have given up what God has made obvious and instead chose to make for ourselves gods and serve these creations whether that is dumb idols or even humanity itself. Out of human narcissism, even though we know God, we pretend to be wise and thus prove ourselves to be fools.

   It is because of this complete corruption of sin that many of us choose to follow the great lie. It is because of this complete corruption of sin that many don’t want to see the Truth, can’t see the Truth. It is because of this complete corruption of sin that for many it is almost as if a veil has been placed over our eyes and what we see is not the whole world. This is why Jesus tells Peter that it is not out of flesh and blood that he proclaims Jesus as Christ. Flesh and blood has been completely corrupted by sin and though all may know of God, we can’t even fathom a piece of God. We may know a little bit about God, a mere awareness may be all that we have, but this corruption has locked us away from seeing the whole Truth, the ability to see that Jesus is Christ.     

Then, this man of Nazareth shows up and performs miracles, and teaches with such brilliance and knowledge of Scripture. He speaks and there is authority behind his words. This man must truly be a great man. Many may perceive him to be this John the Baptist that they heard about. Others may believe this is Elijah back on earth, descended from Heaven. And still others may perceive him to be Jeremiah or another prophet. But God? No, who in their right mind would claim he is God and truly believe it sincerely in their hearts? Jesus may be a great man, but he is still a man; plus, God is God.

   There is an impossibility to proclaim Jesus is God, that Jesus is Christ. We are spiritual incapable of proclaiming this, not because of human ineptitude but because of the chains of sin which force us to not recognize this. We may all know of God, but sin prevents us from acknowledging the depth of God, most especially that Jesus is He. It is impossible for us. It would take a miracle for us to make not that mental leap, but spiritual leap to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus. We, by our own devices can’t make that leap, for we will fail, but, by the grace of God, and only by the grace of God, we may succeed.

   Through flesh and blood we cannot proclaim Christ as Lord. It is only through the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the Father, can we truly believe, have faith, and loudly proclaim Jesus is Christ.

   This is why Jesus tells Peter, after proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, that, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven.”

   A miracle did happen that day, Peter proclaimed Jesus is Christ, and he truly believed the words that he said. He didn’t do this from his own will, but God’s will. For on that day, Peter was truly blessed. God the Father gifted him with a revelation and it is because of this gift, not because of his own will, that Jesus also blessed Peter with his name, which means Rock, “for on this Rock I will build my church.” Outside of being the first of the twelve disciples, there was nothing special about him, just like there was nothing special about the Hebrews and Israel, but God still gifted him with faith and it is because of this faith that Jesus gives him the name Peter and proclaims that Peter, who proclaimed Jesus, would be the strong foundation that the church was to be built upon.

   Yet Christ said a most curious thing after proclaiming this, he told his disciples not to tell anyone else. Why? The reason is two-fold. The first is because of sin which would block others from understanding, leading to misunderstanding and even generating hatred that could lead towards the untimely deaths of the disciples. The other is because Christ had yet to die for the sake of our sins. But after His death and resurrection, Christ null and voids this command and instead commands his disciples to proclaim the Good News, that Christ has died for our sins and that through him and his glorious resurrection we are indeed saved.

   Thus, after his resurrection, through this Great commission, Jesus Christ has opened the means of Salvation. That through the proclamation of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit may enter into us and provide for us the miracle necessary to have faith and believe that Jesus is Christ, and, through this faith, have Salvation.

   And because today is a communion Sunday, we see this through the Daily Bread, this Holy Sacrament, for whereas through our flesh and blood we not only can’t believe in Jesus Christ, but also can’t maintain our faith, through His flesh and blood, through the bread and wine presented here today we are blessed with the spiritual sustenance necessary to maintain our faith in Jesus Christ.

   So who do you say Jesus is?

   Do you say Christ? If you say Christ, and you sincerely believe this and have faith in the promises he has made, then let it be known you are indeed saved. I say again, if you proclaim and have faith that Jesus is Christ, then let it be known the reason you can say this is because you are saved.

   Let us pray,

   Dear Heavenly Father, you are great and amazing and above all things. Through you we are truly blessed, for you have gifted us with your Son who died on the cross for our salvation, and you have gifted us with your Holy Spirit who provides for us the faith in your Son who is Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, Lord, and God. In your Name we pray, Amen.

                                                                                    Prayer Of The Day   

Lord God of all nations, You have revealed Your will to Your people and promised Your help to us all. Help us to hear and to do what You command, that the darkness may be overcome by the power of Your light; through Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

                                                                                      We Hear God's Word

                      THE FIRST LESSON                                                                                                         EPHESIANS 2:11-22

                                                                                          THE WORD OF THE LORD

Therefore rememberthat at one timeyou Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision,                                                            which is made in the flesh by hands-remember that you were at that time seperated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off were brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himselfone new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.                                                                                                                                                                                                       And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundationof the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

                                                                     HERE ENDS THE READING OF THE FIRST LESSON

                                                                                                  PSALMS

                                 PSALMODY                                                                                                                     PSALM 133

P  Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!                                                                                                                                                 C  It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

P   It is like  the dew of Hermon, which falls on the  mountains of Zion! For there the Lord  has commanded the blessing.         

    THE SECOND LESSON                                                                                                                           HEBREWS 10:19-25

                                                                                      THE WORD OF THE LORD     

  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God. let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from and evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us cosider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

                                                                       HERE ENDS THE READING OF THE SECOND LESSON

C    ALLELUIA, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia

                                                                                                          GOSPEL                                                                                                                                 P    The Holy Gospel is writtenin the 16th chaptert of St Matthew beginnin g at the 13th verse.

C      Glory to you, O Lord     

                                                                                        ST. MATTHEW 16:13-20     

    Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his deciples,   "Who do people say that the son of Man is?"  And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, " But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter replied, :You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" And Jesus answered him,  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  Then he strictly charhged the deciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.           

                                                                      HERE ENDS THE GOSPEL READING FOR TODAY

C      PRAISE TO YOU O CHRIST