Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity 04 October anno domini 2026 Holy Communion
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8 The Gospel: St. Matthew 22:34-46
Lord, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand
the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and
with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
# 430,553.156
“Asking the Right Questions”
Why do we question God?
Our lesson from St. Matthew’s reading today shows the utter folly of such behavior.
Here we are, creations..creatures...created by the Almighty God of the Universe, croaking out questions to our creator as to why He has done such and so and so and so... What are we thinking?
One of the most pressing issues, according to some agreed consensus, global climate-warming-death to all life on earth, OR the on-going “plandemic” single virus-disease that may bring the end of all life as we know it: but are they? What are we thinking? The most important issue of all time is our standing before the Lord God, creator of the universe. Do we know who God is?
1. If we rely on non-believers for our world view, we will sorely be disappointed.
Since “they” don’t have any concept or belief of an afterlife, “they” don’t have any forward looking future.
We see this air of despair permeate all aspects of public discourse.
The end is near, there is no hope, we are on the edge of extinction, etc.,etc. This is the prevailing world view...no hope. We find this view being promulgated by social media and the entertainment industries. Doom sells, hope does not.
As believers in Christ Jesus and his overall message of hope, we need to remind each other that the “otherside” doesn’t have the answers...we do. The Hope of Resurrection, the hope and promise of eternal life with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
2. The wise men of Jesus day were constantly trying to find ways to foul up His message, or to at least make Jesus look to be a fool to his followers. The time honored ask a question to be answered by a question style of dialog was used by the doubters as well as Jesus. Only one problem, Jesus knew(knows) all the answers even before they ask them.
In this encounter we read today in Matthew 22 Jesus would showcase the Ten Commandments AND how these wise or learned men were not really following those commandments. The Sadducees had been put to silence by Jesus, so now the far more sophisticated and most educated men of the time: the Pharisees, were going to show Jesus who was more educated and wise as far as society understood such. The passage make the Pharisee sound like a group of snakes or villains: 34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. But Jesus was prepared for them with wonderful eternal lessons and questions that would make a thinking person stop and realize this teacher {rabboni} is very wise and might possibly know all the answers. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Notice that Jesus answers him by reiterating the First Commandment: 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment. “I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have none other gods but me.” Jesus response is a refocus of the first commandment. God is Lord, your Lord, he is to be loved and honored.(feared).
Now you say ok, I can see that, but what about the next two verses? 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
What do the last six commandments have in common? All six of them are about human to human conduct and civility. Honor your mother and father, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery (disrupt your community), don’t steal, don’t lie about your neighbors (to gain some type of credit, false as it is), and do not covet what your neighbor has.
All six of the remaining commandments are encapsulated by what Jesus related as the second most important commandment. LOVE your neighbor as you love yourself. And then to drive home the point, he said ALL the law and the prophets precepts, statues, prophecies, and such hang on these two commandments.
Did Jesus rescind the 10 Commandments? NO, he clarified them. He made the point that we must primarily love God and then love our neighbors.
Pretty heavy yet simple concepts.
Now Jesus wasn’t finished with the ‘wise guys’ yet. He now asks them to wrap their minds around the identity of Christ.
By doing this Jesus was certifying his authority and identity.
41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
And as we read in the passage, when the Pharisee wouldn’t answer Jesus question, they opted to not question him anymore, especially in front of the crowds, it made them lose face. They were no longer considered true authorities on the Word of God.
And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
If you think of this in our present times, there are a lot of “learned” folk who have no credibility due to their inability to answer essential questions to the reason why? They have no answers to the chaos that rules civil society at this time. NONE.
It is caused by a fallen people. “...all have sinned and come short of the Lord...”
The last thought I’d like to leave you with is about certification. Jesus in his reply to those who questioned him, in his response to those who were considered experts in their educational and spiritual realm, were dethroned by the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
When Jesus was able to show the errors of the wise men of the time, he was showing us that we must rely on the Word of God, the Word made flesh, the Word of Life, Jesus Christ and his death and glorious resurrection.
The Hope of Salvation, our future in eternity, our faith once delivered.
Let us pray:
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgement, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that all the peoples of the earth, though now divided and in bondage to sin, may be made free and brought together under his most gracious rule, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Remember, O Lord, what thou hast wrought in us, and not what we deserve, and as thou hast called us to thy service, make us worthy of our calling, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
