A Sunday Chaser on the Solid Rock of the Holy Scriptures

When we are not drinking brews with Andrewes and discussing his sermons, we are often preaching ourselves. Here is Fr. Allen’s sermon from Advent II 2022

"Withstanding the Times by Standing Upon the Eternals"

Preached at St Michael the Archangel Anglican Church in Matthews, NC on December 4, 2022

 

Jesus’ descriptions of life on earth after His heavenly enthronement are strikingly accurate: distress, perplexity, failing hearts, and the whole world order being shaken. But what is even more striking is that He says these things, not as an observer as though He was simply recounting the evening news, but as the instigator – as the Word who shakes the earth when He speaks. Remember Hebrews 12:26-27: ²⁶ [At Mt. Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” ²⁷ [To remove] those things which can be shaken, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

    Yes, once again, we find ourselves living in a time of great shaking, but our Scriptures call us to remember that it is only the gates of hell that will not prevail (cf.Matt.16:17-19), the Church has the unshakable Cornerstone and the solid foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph.2:20). Sure, it might look like all the wheels are falling off of Pharaoh’s chariots, as everything in our culture seems to be falling apart, but we are the New Israel of God, and we are already standing on the opposite shore.

    Yet, the only way a person would know this, and can know this, is by making a way to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Holy Scriptures, which Yahweh has caused to be written for our learning in times like these. For they alone equip us to embrace and hold fast to Him, His kingdom, and the life He offers through Jesus.

    Thus, as we watch our culture being rattled by fatherlessness in homes, assisted murders and suicides in hospitals, incompetence in the places of education, and the insanity of transgenderism everywhere from children’s entertainment to sports, we do not fear, but rest assured that God is shaking our society to its core just as He did to the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Instead of fearing, we take our stand upon the Solid Rock and begin living our lives by Its Truth (which lasts far longer than the 20-30 seconds of a TikTok video, but instead “endureth from generation to generation,” Ps.100:5).

    Yes, while our culture reads, marks and inwardly digests the latest news snippets on YouTube or the science of the doctors who agree with them, we turn to the Holy Scriptures to find out: who God is; who we are; what we are to be doing; and what makes us worth knowing and/or loving. For if we want to withstand the times, we must stand upon the eternals, and in so doing we will find the grace and consolation known by the countless generations who have gone before us (from Moses to the Founding Fathers of our Nation to today).

    Now, I know. I can hear you thinking, “Do I have to read the whole thing?” The answer is, “YES” (Even those weird books in the Apocrypha and those referenced by St. Peter and Jude) the Scriptures are there for our learning, to break free from the downward spiral of insanity all around us. They now only show us what a woman is, they show us what a man is as well - someone who protects their household, commits himself to one woman (not one at a time, but one), raises children in the paideia (or culture) of God, and who is not ruled by their passions or feelings. The Scriptures show us that all life from the womb to the tomb is sacred and worth protecting and loving.

    And what’s more, is that it shows us the Church – not the motivational, money hungry organizations we are all familiar with – but the family of God brought together in the Body of Jesus where men and women learn to live life together, loving and looking out for one another, practicing the mind of Christ, and continuing toward the hope of Glory.

    This is where you and I will find the ground which cannot be shaken. By its light we can learn to protect our families from the World that has chosen to exchange truth for a lie and Christ for chaos. This is where we will find, as Mr. Rogers said, “the something deep inside, greater than feelings, that helps us become what we can, leading girls to be someday a lady, and boys to be someday a man.” This is where we find “the things that cannot be shaken” as Hebrews tells us. “So let us be grateful for receiving this kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and all” (12:27-28).For “the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” Amen.