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Trinity XIV, Evensong: September 17, 2006
Fr Ivan Aquilina

St Matthew works hard in his gospel to portray our blessed Lord as the new Moses. He does this during the Sermon on the Mount and in tonight’s gospel reading. St Matthew teaches us that Jesus is the new Moses, the new legislator who imparts to us the law of the New Covenant. If we are going to be the people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb then today we are given the rule of life.

“Teach them the statues…and make known to them the way they are to go,” says Jethro to Moses in our first reading and Moses obliges. Jesus does the same in our gospel text and sets about perfecting the Mosaic Law and giving us the rule of life.
Our text starts by a very valuable precept: to think the best of other people. It is oppressive when one starts judging other people; it creates a negative mindset. On the other hand, it is liberating when we seek what is noble and good in others. As Jesus reminds us in judging one sees the speck someone has but fails to see or want to see the log that oneself carries.

God is a loving Father who looks for what is good in us, upholds it and celebrates it and kills the fattened calf in celebration. We are to mirror God’s behaviour and cherish what is good in others. This creates a positive environment in which all work for the amendment of life and the furtherance of what is good. So our first call is to be positive communities where the background music is trust and the context is love, where we enable each other to grow and flourish rather than destroy each other by judging and condemning. This passage teaches us that we are called to live as community, the Mystical Body of Christ and not as a collection of individuals as many times we strive to be.

However, our Lord knows that there will always be some who will have ears and listen not, to their great peril. It is for this reason that he makes us aware not to give what is holy to dogs or throw pearls before swine. We are not to be unsettled from our rule of life because some will not follow it or unjustly criticise it. Some will never be comfortable with the Christian Way, others, sadly, will never walk it.

After setting the positive background of cherishing what is good in others, Jesus moves to another important aspect of our rule of life: Trustful Prayer. Our Father in heaven knows what is good for us and is looking forward to grant it to us as He lovingly awaits us to ask for it. Our prayer is not asking for a favour or begging for mercy, it must be a prayer full of confidence for it to work, like knocking with the expectation of being allowed in, searching not for the sake of searching but in the hope of finding. If we really think about this it will revolutionise our way of prayer. Our prayer becomes a prayer of such confidence that even if we do not receive what we ask for we consider that emptiness itself as the answer to our prayers and work through that emptiness in hope.

Our relationship with God in prayer does not exclude our relationship with our neighbour, indeed they are the two sides of the same coin. We are called tonight to the golden rule: to treat others as we would like others to treat us, in love, generosity and honesty. Again, Jesus reminds us of our common life.

And finally a “beware” sign from Jesus. Our human nature opts for the easy way out, sometimes even as Church we opt for that, maybe we are living the effects of that. Jesus says that taking the easy way out might look easy but in fact it is the road to destruction, we have got his word for it. Jesus invites us to life, the way of life is uphill but even in that struggle there is utmost joy, in a context of honesty, healthy relationships, a life of prayer, a way of love and hope and faith.

This gospel places us sitting at the feet of Jesus our Master. How appropriate the words of the Anthem we had tonight: “I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste”. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is a delight and the teaching that he gave us tonight fills us with sweetness and peace. If we follow this teaching we can make our own the words of the second half of this anthem: “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” Let us follow his precepts and sit at his table as his community of love.

	ALL SAINTS MARGARET STREET
	All Saints, Margaret Street, London, W1W 8JG, UK
Welcome Worship and visitor information Diary dates History and architecture Music The life of the church Sermons Support All Saints Get in touch	Trinity XIV, Evensong: September 17, 2006 Fr Ivan Aquilina St Matthew works hard in his gospel to portray our blessed Lord as the new Moses. He does this during the Sermon on the Mount and in tonight’s gospel reading. St Matthew teaches us that Jesus is the new Moses, the new legislator who imparts to us the law of the New Covenant. If we are going to be the people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb then today we are given the rule of life. “Teach them the statues…and make known to them the way they are to go,” says Jethro to Moses in our first reading and Moses obliges. Jesus does the same in our gospel text and sets about perfecting the Mosaic Law and giving us the rule of life. Our text starts by a very valuable precept: to think the best of other people. It is oppressive when one starts judging other people; it creates a negative mindset. On the other hand, it is liberating when we seek what is noble and good in others. As Jesus reminds us in judging one sees the speck someone has but fails to see or want to see the log that oneself carries. God is a loving Father who looks for what is good in us, upholds it and celebrates it and kills the fattened calf in celebration. We are to mirror God’s behaviour and cherish what is good in others. This creates a positive environment in which all work for the amendment of life and the furtherance of what is good. So our first call is to be positive communities where the background music is trust and the context is love, where we enable each other to grow and flourish rather than destroy each other by judging and condemning. This passage teaches us that we are called to live as community, the Mystical Body of Christ and not as a collection of individuals as many times we strive to be. However, our Lord knows that there will always be some who will have ears and listen not, to their great peril. It is for this reason that he makes us aware not to give what is holy to dogs or throw pearls before swine. We are not to be unsettled from our rule of life because some will not follow it or unjustly criticise it. Some will never be comfortable with the Christian Way, others, sadly, will never walk it. After setting the positive background of cherishing what is good in others, Jesus moves to another important aspect of our rule of life: Trustful Prayer. Our Father in heaven knows what is good for us and is looking forward to grant it to us as He lovingly awaits us to ask for it. Our prayer is not asking for a favour or begging for mercy, it must be a prayer full of confidence for it to work, like knocking with the expectation of being allowed in, searching not for the sake of searching but in the hope of finding. If we really think about this it will revolutionise our way of prayer. Our prayer becomes a prayer of such confidence that even if we do not receive what we ask for we consider that emptiness itself as the answer to our prayers and work through that emptiness in hope. Our relationship with God in prayer does not exclude our relationship with our neighbour, indeed they are the two sides of the same coin. We are called tonight to the golden rule: to treat others as we would like others to treat us, in love, generosity and honesty. Again, Jesus reminds us of our common life. And finally a “beware” sign from Jesus. Our human nature opts for the easy way out, sometimes even as Church we opt for that, maybe we are living the effects of that. Jesus says that taking the easy way out might look easy but in fact it is the road to destruction, we have got his word for it. Jesus invites us to life, the way of life is uphill but even in that struggle there is utmost joy, in a context of honesty, healthy relationships, a life of prayer, a way of love and hope and faith. This gospel places us sitting at the feet of Jesus our Master. How appropriate the words of the Anthem we had tonight: “I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste”. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is a delight and the teaching that he gave us tonight fills us with sweetness and peace. If we follow this teaching we can make our own the words of the second half of this anthem: “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.” Let us follow his precepts and sit at his table as his community of love.