THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
1 Pet. 5:5b-6 (quoting Proverbs 3:34): “‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
Luke 15:2: “The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.’”
Reflection
Today we see the first signs of the crux of Reverend David G. Phillips’ theory on the Trinity Season, presented in his article, “The Rationale of the Trinity Season Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer.” You may recall his theory that these readings were chosen in an attempt to reflect on what we now call the “seven deadly sins”, using three cycles, the first of which is intended to purge us of them. And indeed pride, the first “deadly sin”, surfaces as the main topic of the Epistle reading, which goes on to call us towards humility and self-control, cautioning us that this exercise will be filled with “sufferings”, but reminding us that we are not alone in that suffering.
But before we get into a discussion about pride, we first need to talk a little bit about the concept of “sin”, or even “deadly sin”. Although the concept of “deadly sin” is found in the Bible, the early Church preferred to speak of the “seven passions”. In this context, “passion” means more like “state of suffering”—think “the Passion of Christ”—and thus it’s no surprise that they chose an Epistle reading which references “suffering”. (References to “suffering” will become more frequent in the coming weeks.) The early Church began to observe that whenever the faithful stumbled (“sinned”) on their spiritual journey, certain behavioral patterns (“passions”) were to blame. They came to understand that sin emerges from the “states of suffering” we find ourselves in, the “passions” that rage within us. In other words, “sin” is an outward evil we commit; “passion” is an inward malady we’re subject to. “Sin” is what has been done; “passion” is why it has been done. To prevent the former, we have to address the latter.
The first of these, then, is pride. Merriam-Webster online defines “pride” as follows:
—a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people
—a feeling that you are more important or better than other people
It’s easy to see how these feelings can lead to “sin”. Yes, self-respect and self-love are important—Jesus repeats the commandment in the Torah to “love your neighbor as yourself”. But we must be careful not to develop that self-respect by taking away someone else’s. We can’t put others down to raise ourselves up. In fact, in Christianity, we can’t even raise ourselves up. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,” Peter’s Community warns us. Only God can raise us up; without God, we are lost.
That idea is the opposite of what we often imagine a spiritual quest to be. We think that we’re the ones “seeking God” and “finding God” when our faith is actually teaching us the reverse—only God can look for us and find us first. And indeed the good news, as we learned two weeks ago from John’s Community, is that “We love [God], because he first loved us”. This love is made clearer in today’s Gospel reading with the two parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. The shepherd and the woman go to great—and perhaps even ridiculous—lengths to recover what was lost. When the search is over, they invite friends and neighbors to rejoice with them. Now the parables are framed with “calls to repentance”, but this may be more Luke’s doing than Jesus’ intention. Certainly sheep and coins can’t repent. But read alongside the Epistle, these parables give us a glimpse of God’s irrational desire to search for us, and God’s extravagant joy upon finding us.
We purge ourselves of the passion of pride through humility. We recall that we owe our existence to something greater than us—a Higher Power: “Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves”, reads Psalm 100 in the King James Version. And, in the same way, this same Higher Power has searched for us and found us, and not we ourselves. God’s grace has started the conversation with us, and God’s love equips us with the tools to return the favor, making us capable, and even worthy, to seek and follow after our Creator.
Prayer of the Day
O Lord,
we pray that you will mercifully hear us.
Grant that we,
to whom you have given a hearty desire to pray,
may, by your mighty aid,
be defended and comforted
in all dangers and adversities;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
—Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity, Book of Common Prayer, 1662
Lord God, heavenly Father,
we all, like sheep, have gone astray,
having allowed our sinful nature
to lead us away from the right path.
For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray you:
Graciously forgive us all our sins,
and quicken our hearts by your Holy Spirit,
that we may abide in your word,
and, in true repentance and steadfast faith,
continue in your Church until the end,
and obtain everlasting life;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
—Collect for the Third Sunday after Trinity by Veit Dietrich, 16th century Lutheran theologian and reformer; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2015
Hymn: “Lord, teach us how to pray aright”
(Words: James Montgomery, 1771-1854; stanza 3 from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, 2006; adapted by Joseph A. Soltero, 2015
Tune: ‘Song 67’, melody from Llyfr y Psalmau, 1621, bass perhaps by Orlando Gibbons, 1583-1625; harmony by The Hymnal, 1940)
Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
With reverence and with fear.
Though dust and ashes in your sight,
We may, we must draw near.
We perish if we cease from prayer.
O grant us pow’r to pray.
And when to meet you we prepare,
Lord, meet us on the way.
Give deep humility, the sense
Of godly sorrow give,
A strong desire, with confidence
To hear your voice and live.
Faith in the only sacrifice
That can for sin atone,
To cast our hopes, to fix our eyes
On Christ, on Christ alone.
Give these, and then your will be done,
Thus, strengthened with all might,
We, through your Spirit and your Son,
Shall pray, and pray aright.
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