How Often I Wanted to Gather Your Children Together: St. Matthew 23:1-39

St. Matthew 23:1-39: "1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, "Rabbi, Rabbi." 8 But you, do not be called "Rabbi;" for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it."17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, "Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it." 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, "If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"'

Today is the festival of St. Titus, the Bishop. And although not specifically appointed for this festival, we get these instructions on how not to be a minister of God, through the wrong example of the Pharisees and scribes. It seems that our Lord has come to Jerusalem to pick a fight with the religious leaders; a fight He hopes to lose by being crucified for us.

The Pharisees and scribes embody the bad ministers of the world. What makes a bad minister? Two things, his preaching and his life. The bad minister preaches to keep things, that he himself does not keep. He preaches himself, and his good works. He prays long prayers, so that you may be impressed with him. He is only concerned about himself. In so doing, he bars the gates of Heaven, for no one can get in through his preaching because his preaching centers on himself and earthly things, and not on Heavenly things. We see these bad ministers all over the place, they are the ones to whom large crowds flock to, because people are easily deceived by subtle words, and earthly platitudes.

The bad ministers life is the same, it is concerned with only himself. All of his grand gestures, his giving, his lifestyle, his good works, are done so that people will think he is a great guy. He deceives and misleads others in the same path, so that they also are concerned about their appearance before other men. Giving grand shows of giving and good works, and other so-called religious activity so that every one will remark about how great a person and Christian they are. These men are sycophants, people pleasers, and even though they may throw out the occasional prop to our Lord Jesus, even this is only done for their own bellies.

Our Lord Jesus, calls these men, "hypocrites." We've come to know this word as meaning "someone who is not what he seems." In holy Scripture this typically refers to someone who pretends to be a member of the Church, but is really not. An "hypocrite" in every day Greek usage at the time of our Lord was an actor or stage performer. Someone pretending to be something other than he is. Therefore all actors are "hypocrites." They are playing a role, that is not who they really are; they are pretending to be someone else. The bad minister, the Pharisees and scribes, are also "hypocrites." They are pretending to be religious and men of God, but their hearts are from our Lord. They are not whom they seem to be.

So then, how does one identify the bad minister? This is determined by his preaching and life. What is he preaching, or more precisely who is he preaching, and how is he living? A good minister, or to say it more properly, a true minister of God, is selfless, he doesn't do things to curry favor with men, but preaches our Lord Jesus at all cost, he boldly proclaims the truth, even when doing so is not in his best interest. He gives of himself, not expecting something in return, especially praise, he does it simply because that is who he is. He is not putting on airs, he is not putting on a show, he is simply being who he is, that is, a man of God, called to proclaim the Lord Jesus, and the salvation that is found in Him alone. He doesn't preach salvation through works, but salvation in the Lord Jesus alone.

The true minister of God gathers the children of God together, and shelters them under his wing, protecting them from the wolf who wishes to devour and kill them. Our Lord in using this example is showing the self-sacrifice of the true minister of God. He will take on all punishment, in order to defend and protect the flock. Our Lord Jesus is the True Minister of God, for He lays down His life, so that the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh may be defeated, and we may live protected under His mighty wing. He bears the cross of sin and shame, so that we do not have to. He becomes the least so that we may be made the greatest. He does this all out of love for us, because that is who He is. He does not put on airs, He is not pretending to be somebody He is not. He is not just some actor dressed up to appear as the Christ. He is the True and Only Lord Christ, and salvation, life and forgiveness is found only in Him.

Our Lord desires to gather us, His children, under His wing as a mother hen. He has sent us His ministers, descendants of the disciples, like St. Titus, who are true ministers, who preach Christ crucified, because that is who they are, and they do not do it for earthly praise, but because they have the same heart that dwelt in our Lord, a heart that wishes to gather His children into the holy house of the Church, so that they may be fed and nourished and strengthened and protected against the assaults of the devil and the world.

May our Lord gather you under His mighty wing of the holy Christian Church, and feed and nourish you with His holy gifts of Word and Sacrament.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Famine Was Severe Upon Them: Genesis 47:1-31

Genesis 47:1-31: "1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, 'My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.' 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.' 4 And they said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.' 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.' 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, 'How old are you?' 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.' 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families. 13 Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, 'Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.' 16 Then Joseph said, 'Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.' 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, 'We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.' 20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's. 21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, 'Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.' 25 So they said, 'You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.' 26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's. 27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, 'Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.' And he said, 'I will do as you have said.' 31 Then he said, 'Swear to me.' And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed."

This evening's reading relays the narrative of Jacob and his sons settling in the land of Egypt, and the increase of the famine that caused them to be there. Joseph makes Pharaoh a very wealthy man. It was because of the dream of Pharaoh that Joseph knew about the coming famine, and was able to prepare for it. However, the famine lasted such a long time that not only did the bread run out in Canaan, but it also ran out in Egypt. When in did, the people of Egypt did not have anything to eat, therefore they were forced to give all their money to buy food, so that the Pharoah had everyone's money. Having given all their money to Pharoah for bread, they had nothing with which to buy food to eat, so Joseph agrees to exchange bread for their livestock, so Pharaoh had everyone's livestock. Then, having given up all the livestock they could spare, they didn't have any thing to buy bread, so Joseph agrees to buy their land in exchange for bread, so that Pharoah, now owned all the land. So Joseph made Pharaoh a very rich man, because he had all the money, all the livestock and all the land of Egypt.

Joseph was then able to even supply workers to work the fields of Pharaoh, that is, the people who sold their land. They would be allowed to work the land, and would be allowed to keep 4/5 of was grown from the seed that Joseph gave them. They only had to give Pharaoh 1/5 of what was grown on his land by their hands.

This is more than just an informative narrative about Joseph's dealings with the Egyptians during the famine. This whole pericope, including Jacob and his whole family settling in the land of Goshen, and the indebted servitude of the people of Egypt, sets up the Exodus. For eventually it would be the Jews, who would grow into a large nation, that would end up in slavery and working in Pharaoh's fields, and building his cities. The sad thing about all of this, is that Joseph, a Jew, sets up Pharaoh to be a very wealthy man, and by all of his dealings with the people, does great things for Pharaoh. But, a Pharaoh arises who does not remember all that Joseph did for Egypt, and Joseph's kindness is repaid with harsh labor and enslavement.

Today, through this reading, we stand poised at the cusp of our Lord God's deliverance. He reveals to us how He sets things up for us, so that He may deliver us, just like He delivers the Israelites from slavery and bondage. He delivers us from the slavery and bondage of sin and death. Our Lord is not slow in fulfilling His promises, as some would count slowness, but instead is patient, waiting for all things to be fulfilled in their proper time, so that we might have a more abundant harvest.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas