“Provision for the Vision”
A sermon by Father S. Peter Donatelli
(Ordinary 26a; all quotes from the NKJV)
JOKE: A young woman brings home her fiancé to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother tells her father to find out about the young man. The father invites the fiancée to his study for a drink. “So what are your plans?” the father asks the young man. “I am a Torah scholar.” he replies. “You’re a Torah scholar. Hmmm,” the father says. “Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in, as she’s accustomed to?” “I will study,” the young man replies, “and God will provide for us.” “And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?” asks the father. “I will concentrate on my studies,” the young man replies, “God will provide for us.” “And children?” asks the father. “How will you support children?” “Don’t worry, sir, God will provide,” replies the fiancé. The conversation proceeds like this, and each time the father questions, the young idealist insists that God will provide. Later, the mother asks, “How did it go, Honey?” The father answers, “He has no job and no plans, but the good news is he thinks I’m God.”
INTRO: Over the next few weeks I would like to unpack the amazing way in which God provides for us. I am actually going to use the word PROVISION as an acrostic starting with the PRO to discuss Patriarchy, Reliability, and Obedience. I have said it before and will say it again that despite myself I have made it this far in life and I am very blessed to have accomplished the results that I have always regarded as important; a great marriage, amazing children that I, through the grace of God, have been able to provide for, not to mention a parochial education, a dependable job, the CEC movement in which God is proactively participating in, and a church full of friends and fellow journeyers that are just as committed to this mission than I am. Quite frankly I am not that impressive of a man so I can safely say, Give God the Glory!” Just as God is faithful to His faithful, God provides for His providers. Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning… He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all… Depend on it; God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Our Daily Bread, May 16, 1992.
POINT ONE: The first point I want to make is the importance of patriarchy in the Church. I will not remind you that one cannot have God as Father without His Bride the Church as Mother. Now I want to remind you that the tangible aspect of the fatherhood of Jesus is found in His authority handed down through the apostles. This is overly emphasized in 1 Corinthians 4: 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
When I looked up patriarchy on line, all the initial references were negative because patriarchy has been associated with control over the years buy let’s look at the Christian characteristics of patriarchy. I would argue if you read through the Scriptures what God wants in His fathers through His Bishops and priest, and subsequently all of us as we participate on the priesthood of all believers, is to providers. Now don’t get me wrong, when we provide we do it with some preconditions. Yes we can unconditionally love all of God’s children; however we expect in return a turn to God in His Church. We call this discipline. We are reminded of this discipline in this morning’s first reading that our Father loves us, provides for us, and waits to spend eternal life with us in Heaven.
Ezekiel 18: 25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”
So allow me to debunk the myth that Christian patriarchy is about control and oppression for it is always my reading of the Holy Scriptures that God loves us so much that He gives us free will to either accept His statutes which inevitably ends with a life in Love with our household in Christ celebrating at the eternal banquet in Heaven. Or we can reject His love, His commands, His patriarchy and develop our own religion, our own rules of life which will end in self-destruction. As our society seeks to end patriarchy as a unacceptable form of authority, we ignore the Pro-death culture of self-destruction. People listen to the lies of awful women like Gloria Steinem who was recently photographed in Portland’s Phoenix magazine wearing a big smile and a t-shirt stating that she had an abortion. The lies in the article are distressing as the testimonies uplift abortion as a positive procedure for women neglecting to tell women of the nearly five hundred women who have died as a result of “safe and legal” abortions. It only took one innocent death to end the death penalty in Maine. Apparently the lives of these women are not important to the self-named “Pro-Choice” groups. They also lied about the percent of women getting abortions and the proven connection between breast cancer and abortion. Needless to say and not to mention the 4000 innocent babies that die everyday, we have turned a deaf ear to the cries of dying women.
POINT TWO: Patriarchy is dependent on reliability. As we reread this morning’s Gospel, we hear the cries and sighs of a father who cares. Matthew 21: 28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
A father expects reliability with his sons; however, a good father also accepts the limitations of his sons. How often has my opinion and viewpoints come in the way of popularity and prestige? Believe it or not, I never try to get people to dislike me but I find myself just blurting our Gospel truths despite the fact that these are unpopular in today’s culture. Try telling a gay guy or a playboy or an unmarried couple living together that God’s design for human sexuality is celibacy in singleness and fidelity in marriage. Nevertheless if there is one thing consistent about my friendship, one thing all my friends can rely on, is the fact that I am not going anywhere. I can argue with someone one minute and give them love, the next. If there is one thing we need, throughout our difficult lives, is the reliability of knowing we can count on each other, all the time. This is best manifested in the Church. Whenever Cindy and I go on vacation, the first thing we look up is when church is on Sunday. Amazingly, we have never been to a place where we could not find a church. Despite the countless attacks by the liberal media against the Church, wherever you go in this blessed country, there is a church waiting for you. Seeing that Cross and steeple gives people the comfort of knowing that I can rely on that place to help me. The Church has been the cornerstone of provision in the U.S.A.
POINT THREE: The best way to insure this reliability is to manifest obedience. There is a funny story about the respect of royal chancellor. Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, “Neil!” Not daring to question or disobey the “command,” the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees! Today in the Word, July 30, 1993.
Obedience is not a four letter word and sometimes following the words of your spiritual father is difficult. I do not always agree on everything Bishop Craig says, however, I obey him always. Quite frankly it’s a win-win for me as I expect to be rewarded by my Heavenly Father as I obey the people He has given authority. It is utmost arrogance to challenge the notion of obedience knowing the Jesus story. Philippians 2: 1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
CONCLUSION: I want to end this sermon by asking each of us to reflect on the blessings of our lives and how graciously God has provided, but I want you to put on the trifocals of patriarchy, reliability, and obedience. I want to assure you that wearing these lenses allows us not only to see our faith in all its glory, but also each other in all our glory. Every blessing God pours out, through darkness or light, has a purpose, and every purpose has provision. Folks we are talking about our loving Father and He will always accomplish in us what He has purposed. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN!
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