Year C Easter 5 WED 2022 Recipes for Success

 Year C Easter 5 WEDNESDAY, 18 May 2022

St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA

“Recipes for Success”

Collect: Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Leviticus 19:1-18

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God.

When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable in your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, or on the next day; and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the Lord; and any such person shall be cut off from the people.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling-block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbour.You shall not go around as a slanderer* among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood* of your neighbour: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbour, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

12 But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters,* to respect those who labour among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; 13esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, beloved,* to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. 15See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 16Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing,18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise the words of prophets,* 21but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22abstain from every form of evil.

23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound* and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

25 Beloved,* pray for us.

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters* with a holy kiss. 27I solemnly command you by the Lord that this letter be read to all of them.*

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.*

Matthew 6:19-24

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust*consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust* consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.*

Good morning, friends. 

When I was in middle school, my mom’s friend threw a Tupperware Party. In the back of the little book she gave my mom, there was a page of “prizes” you would get if you, too, held a Tupperware Party and sold a certain amount. One of the prizes was a radio with an alarm clock. It was small, sleek, and it caught my eye. That was the day I decided that I would have a Tupperware Sale. I had sold candy and donuts door to door raising funds for sports team and scouts. How hard could a Tupperware Party be?

When I reached out to the saleswoman, she was shocked and surprised by my age and probably my gender. Little did she know who she was dealing with. Jumping over a few weeks, I turned in all my orders and got my clock radio.

Most of us, when we set our minds on things can accomplish them if things are only up to us. Mindset. Sweat and hard work. Diligence. These things get you a long way.

Repeatedly I have followed this pattern in my life. When I wanted to be in my school’s foreign exchange program. When I wanted to have leadership positions. When I decided what I want to be. I set my mind on things, and then I would do the work to make it happen. The biggest thing is me convincing me that this is what I want. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And where my heart was, my future could soon be.

You may have tuned out in our readings this morning. They are simplistic. Do this. Don’t do that. But often that is what we are looking for. We want to know, am I on the right path, or not. Leviticus is mostly a recapitulation of the 10 Commandments. First Thessalonians is instructions to those in the Church. Matthew is a section of the Sermon on the Mount, looking at what we hold most dear.

Much of what we teach and preach is encouraging us to put our hearts and minds on the ways of God. Call it Wisdom like the Psalms, or Love like Jesus, it all comes back to what we define as Success, and the road map to get there.

Deciding where we want to go, and who we want to be, is only the first step. Committing to the journey and working the process come what may is the rest of it. Like our 12 Step friends, admitting you have a problem is the first step. Working the rest of the system is the path to get what one wants.

I invite you to reread the Scriptures from today. I made you copies and they will be on the table in the back as you leave. Underline the instructions. As the Collect says on Proper 28: 

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

May that be our charge and our call. God wants our best. And he shows us the way. Amen