Ember Friday in September
Posted on September 22, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 6:20-26 (NKJV)
6:20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Devotion
This passage is not about social distinctions, but about spiritual ones. The “blessings” in the first part are for the Christian, and the “woes” in the second part are for the unbeliever. This becomes clear from the double comparison to the prophets—the true prophets in the first part, and the false prophets in the second.
Outwardly in the world, the Christian Church appears poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. But she is rich toward God in faith. Therefore God comforts her—and every individual Christian in her—with His kingdom and all good things. This truth does not change, even if some individual Christians happen to be wealthy and well-off in this life. Their faith in the Christ makes them members of the Christian Church, and so the blessings apply to them by promise.
On the other hand, those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will, in the end, go hungry and will weep without comfort, because they rejected the Son of God. This does not change, even though they appear outwardly to be rich and happy now. Nor does the fact that certain unbelievers happen to be poor change the fact that they will suffer the consequences of rejecting the true God.
The point is spiritual. The Christian is blessed because he is rich toward God, though poor toward the world. The unbeliever is rich toward the world and poor toward God, therefore he is cursed.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee, let Thy continual pity cleanse and defend Thy Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without Thy succor, preserve it evermore by Thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Ember Friday in September
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of Thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
