Collect
of the Week (Proper 15-C)
Merciful
Lord, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with
Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of
His redeeming work and daily follow in His way; through the same Jesus Christ,
Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever.
Romans
13:5-7
5
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for
the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay
taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very
thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes
are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed,
honor to whom honor is owed.
Catechism:
The Fourth
What is the Fourth Commandment?
Honor your father and your mother.
What does this mean?
We should fear and
love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities,
but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.
Devotion
In the
name of T Jesus.
The
Fourth Commandment most clearly gives order to the family. Parents and
children live in harmony with one another when each understands its office and
the duties given to it. As the Father loves and preserves His creation,
so too, earthly parents are called to give that love and service to those
children entrusted to their care. Likewise, as we are to give the
heavenly Father the highest honor, so too, since our parents are in the
parental office, children are to honor, serve and obey, love and cherish their
parents—their familial authorities.
But the
authority which is fundamental in the family also extents to the other spheres
of life. The order given by God to promote harmony and well-being is also
applied in the spiritual realm, and the civil realm. Those who are called
by God to serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry truly are spiritual fathers,
and those who receive their love and service are called to give them the honor
due that particular office. This what Paul writes in 1 Thess 5:12-13: “We
ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you
in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love
because of their work.”
The
third sphere, which Paul speaks of above in Romans 13, is the civil
sphere. Here too, the same order seen in the family is given by God so
that there would be harmony and well-being among all people. Those who
serve in government offices serve in fatherly offices and are, therefore,
called to a high form of service. Those who receive that serve, likewise,
are to give those offices their honor. And with this understanding, there
is order, and there is peace in the land.
Be it
the family, the Church, or the civil sphere, problems arise when the Fourth
Commandment is broken. Authorities who abuse their power, or who fail to
carry out their duties of loving service stand guilty before God.
Children, congregation members, and citizens who fail to give honor to those
who serve in God-given offices of authority are likewise guilty of having
sinned against the Fourth Commandment. And no matter who the guilty party
is, order has been lost, and you can be certain, there will be strife.
To see
this displayed most clearly, consider how Christ is the head of the
Church. Those who know of His work of redemption through his death and
resurrection have no problem submitting to Him and giving Him honor and
praise. And so, Christ becomes the model for all those in
authority—servants who pour themselves out for those they’ve been called to
serve. And likewise, the honor and praise we rightly give to Christ is
reflected in how we treat our authorities in any realm. In the name of T
Jesus.
Prayer
Visit,
O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep all harm and danger far
from them. Grant that we may dwell together in peace under the protection of
You holy angels, sharing eternally in Your blessings; through Jesus Christ, our
Lord (#239).
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