Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
The Third Sunday after Trinity
O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
An Overview
The Third Sunday after Trinity, however you divide it up, focuses on the idea of being lost and found. Our Lord tells us three parables to illustrate this point: the first is about a lost sheep, the idea that a lamb can wander from the flock and then be found by a shepherd. The second is a coin that is lost by a woman. Unlike the lamb, this coin didn't wander by its own will, but because of the way the world works. In both these first two, when the lost item has been found, a party is thrown to celebrate its finding.
The third parable is the one often called "The Prodigal Son." As you can guess from the artwork on this page, Pastor Benson will spend most of his sermon talking about this third "Lost and Found" parable.
This parable is a beautiful example of what it looks like to be a "poor, miserable sinner." We begin with a promise from God (the Father's inheritance) and then we act foolishly and disregard the good gift (spend the inheritance). When we find ourselves so low in our sin (poor and among pigs) then we return (repent) to our Father. Just like the father in the parable, God doesn't demand we do lots of works in order to make up for what we've done, when we repent, we are clothed with a new robe, we are given a beautiful ring, and the choice calf is slaughtered for a party.
This Sunday is all about being lost because of the sin that our first mother Eve brought into the world, and found by the offspring of Eve who died on the cross to take all our sin and ugliness upon Himself.
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Artwork: The Prodigal Son Leaves Home, Abraham Bosse. French, ca. 1636. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Old Testament
Micah 7:18-20
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Rather than echoing the words of a prophecy, here Micah cries out in praise of the Lord who called him. It's worth noting that chapter 7 begins with a cry of repentance, hauntingly appropriate for the parables we're about to hear from the mouth of Jesus.
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v. 18: In the face of a world with so many gods, Micah sees that it is the LORD GOD alone who can pardon iniquity, not because He wants to be nice, but in order to provide for "the remnant of his inheritance."
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v.18-19: The LORD appears human sometimes. While this might make us uneasy or think of the pagan gods of old, we should remember that Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God, and so too the Word of God took on human flesh. So we shouldn't be surprised when we see "human" attributes in God (like anger and compassion). Really, we're seeing "Divine" attributes in man.
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v. 20: This ends Micah's prophecy. We don't hear about "being faithful to God," but rather we hear that God is faithful to His people - what a word of comfort that salvation, trust, hope, blessing, comfort, and forgiveness all come from outside ourselves.
Translation Notes
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v. 20: faithfulness, Hebrew: ʾĕmet̲. A form of the root word that gives us "Amen."
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v. 20: "from the days of old," the Hebrew word Qed̲em can mean "ancient" or "east." The idea being that the oldest things are eastward. This odd linguistic issue probably informs the practice of burying bodies so that when they rise they will face eastward.
The Epistle
1 Peter 5:6-11
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"Humility" was seen by many ancients as the beginning of the virtuous life. That Peter beings this passage with a command that hearers humble themselves shows that Peter is not an "uneducated fisherman," as some like to claim.
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v. 6: Humility results in exaltation from God. Recall Jesus' words that "the first shall be last,"
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v. 6-7: Humility doesn't look like sack cloth and ashes, it instead looks like a quiet prayer in which the Christian puts all his anxieties on God. Humility is the confession that we cannot fix our own problems.
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v. 8-9: Every Christian should memorize this two verses. The devil indeed prowls around trying to devour us, and we should seek to humble ourselves, to cast our anxieties on God, and keep our minds sober so that we can resist the devil in the firm faith given to us by Christ's Word.
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v. 9-11: Peter reminds his hearers (and himself!) that there are many people suffering for the faith, we should rejoice that we never suffer alone.
Translation Notes
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v. 8: "adversary," greek a̓ntídikoς; literally "the one opposed to justice/judgment"
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v. 9: "Firm in your faith," the Greek word here implies that someone is to plant his heels and prepare for a blow so that he can withstand anything. There is one manuscript (𝔓72) that uses a different word that implies "sitting," so as to withstand the assaults of the devil. This doesn't really mean anything in terms of preaching, but Pastor Benson loves the story of 𝔓72 so he included it here so he won't forget about this weird inclusion.
The Holy Gospel
Luke 15:1-32
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These three "Lost and Found" parables are given in the context of Pharisees and scribes grumbling about Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors.
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v. 4-7: Jesus gives the familiar image of a shepherd carrying a lamb across his shoulders. This shepherd tells his neighbors to rejoice with him, as an echo of what happens in heaven when one sinner repents. Think about how the Pharisees would hear this in the midst of Jesus eating with sinners, and also think about how the 99 sheep would feel about being "abandoned" for the sake of the one who wandered...
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v. 8-10: Here a woman loses 1/10 of her life savings. Of course she would sweep the house in order to find such a large percentage of what she had. When she does find it, she doesn't horde her treasure, but asks her friends to rejoice with her. This again echoes what happens in heaven when one sinner repents. Think about how the Pharisees would think about a God who rejoices when the lost are found, rather than only caring about the "nine other coins."
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v. 11-12: Here it is not about 1/99 or 1/10, but a much higher stake: 1/2 of the Father's children are being dealt with here, as well as 1/2 of his property.
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v. 13: The younger son is irresponsible with the gift given to him, and spends everything on himself instead of sharing, storing, and being a wise steward.
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v. 14-15: Like the Grasshopper in Aesop's fable, the younger son finds himself with a full belly when times are good, and in desperate need when times are rough. As a result, he can only get a job working with pigs - the dirtiest animal to a first century Jew.
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v. 17-19: The young son "comes to himself." That is to say, he realizes who he is, into what house he was born, and who he ought to grow up to be so he repents. It is as though the younger son remembers the words of Micah, that God forgives, and somehow anticipates the words of Peter in which he must humble himself and cast his cares on God in order to be exalted by the Father.
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v. 20: Note that the son doesn't even make it home, he is a long way off when his father runs out to meet him..
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v. 21: repentance, admission of worthlessness
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v. 22-23: This is what forgiveness looks like: Christ giving us the robe of His righteousness, all his precious Jewels, and His own shoes. The angels rejoice in heaven, a party is thrown on earth, and those who repent of their sins eat and drink.
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v. 25-32: Would that we had ended on a happy note! But just like the 99 indignant sheep, or the 9 coins that wish they got more attention, the responsible son is angry that the "squeaky wheel has gotten the grease." The Father reminds him that "all that is mine is yours." Because the younger son took the inheritance and left, the father no longer owed him anything. The father's wealth continued to grow, so we must never forget that the older son actually got more in the end. This is a call for faithfulness: when we persevere to the end (as Peter told us) we are actually rewarded. We are no more or less saved than the person who converts on the death bed, but we are given a greater portion in heaven, a "larger" mansion, if you will. "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” Revelation 14:13
Translation Notes
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This is a very straightforward text, but it's worth noting that the word for "prostitutes" in verse 30 is the word pornw͂n, which shares a root with the english word "pornography," that is, sexually vile writings.
Poetry Used in the Liturgy of Trinity 3
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Psalm 25- Portions of Psalm 25 are used in the Introit for this Sunday. The Psalm as a whole is one of repentance, and a prayer that God remember His promises of old. Verse 7 is worth committing to memory, "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!"
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Psalm 103- This Psalm encapsulates the opening words of this week's Old Testament reading. Micah and David both see that the Lord does not remain angry forever, but removes the sins of those who repent.
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Psalm 55- This is a prayer for the downtrodden and despairing. David looks around and sees his enemies everywhere, but though he is afraid for a time, ultimately he knows that God will send forth justice, either in this life or in the life to come.
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Psalm 18- According to the old (though not ancient) inscriptions above the Psalms, this one was written when David was delivered from Saul (read 1 Samuel 28-31 for the full story). This Psalm stands in stark contrast to the other ones we've heard today. Here David does not count himself lowly, but he calls himself righteous. This is not arrogance, but is a humble confession that the one who has found favor in God's eye has indeed done righteously. While we are always called to be humble, we are never called to a false humility, and this Psalm teaches us how to avoid that.
Artwork: The Prodigal Son Guarding Pigs, Abraham Bosse. French, ca. 1636. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Further Reading & Listening
Artwork: The Prodigal Son Changes Clothes, Abraham Bosse. French, ca. 1636. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.