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

"Be Not Ignorant: Batteries Not Included"

August 21, 2022

    We all know what it is like to be ignorant of those little words: “Batteries not included.” And we all know that Wendy’s struck gold back in the day when they came up with the slogan: “Where’s the beef?” Because, you know as well as I, that it’s easy to make a product that looks like the real thing, smells like the real thing, and has the perfect packaging, only to realize what seems to be promised is missing.

    In the case of burgers, it is a decent sized beef patty, and when it comes to faith, Scripture tells us, “You better make sure these are included: lives of holiness, spiritual mindsets, and a keen awareness of God’s Presence in the places where He has promised to be found.

    In our Epistle Reading, we hear St. Paul for the second week in a row, tell us about something things we sometimes can be ignorant about, or ingredients that are easy to overlook and will be missing in imitation-faith. Last week, he gave us the example of the imitation-faith of the wilderness generation: the missing ingredient was a personal walk with God which progressed in holiness in their everyday lives. They had all been baptized, they regularly communed with spiritual food, but yet they did not walk with the Lord. Instead, they fought him every day of their life (in the categories of how they should worship, who they could sleep with, and what life was all about). And because of this, Paul warns us that it is possible to have Holy Sacraments, but if you’re missing the ingredient of a holy life, on Judgment Day, the angels are going to ask, “where’s the real thing?”

    Similarly, this week tells us to not be ignorant of the purpose of spiritual gifts, gifts after all which are to be pursued by every believer (v.31). Because, if all we have are the spiritual gifts, without a spiritual mind – that is: having a mind for using them to seek the good of others – we will still be missing the real thing. The gifts are given to nurture the life which has been planted within us at Baptism and quickened in Confirmation, so that we, and the world around us can experience the blessings of Jesus’ kingdom. Without this life, gifts are just emotional excitement, or efforts to feel important, only having the “appearance of godliness but missing its power” (2Tim.3:5). It might look like Jesus, but it is only an imitation for it because it does not have the mind of Jesus, which seeks and serves others.

    Then, in our Gospel reading today where Jesus cleanses the Temple, we see yet another ingredient, which will be missing in some imitation-faiths.  Despite what you might have been told about the temple, it was dedicated to presenting the gospel - the good news of Yahweh’s salvation - through the celebrations of annual feasts and instructing God’s people to live their lives according to those realities.

    Every Spring they led people in celebrating their great salvation out of their bondage and slavery in Egypt by the blood of the lamb with Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. And then the new relationship they were saved into was celebrated with Pentecost.  And then in the Fall, they led people in celebrating Trumpets, Atonement, and Booths, the annual times in which worshippers were called to examine their lives and faithfulness thereof, to look to God to cleanse them and their land of their sins, and to remember God’s provisions for them in their salvation.

    And, yet even with all of this we are led to ask what good is the proclamation of the Gospel, if it turns into nothing more than a money maker and doesn’t lead its participants into recognizing the God of the gospel when He shows up. It’s like churches today where people will leave saying they got nothing out of it. Even though Jesus promises He is present when two or three gather in His name (Matt.18:20), when people commune of His flesh (Jhn.6:53,56), and when His word is submitted to (Jhn.14:23), they have missed those moments of visitation like Temple of Jesus’ day as they look for and settle with imitations.

Today, we ought not to settle for any imitation, and I am not talking about knock-off burgers with big buns, great toppings, and no meat. I am talking about knock-off Christianitys, which try to hide the fact that they have no desire for holiness in life, no mind-of-Christ to serve, and no awareness of the Jesus’ supernatural Presences with us and for us. So, come and eat with the real Jesus and find the real thing.

“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.”