Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 7th, 2018

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, October 7th, 2018

One of my favorite movie actors is Charlton Heston.  Of course when I mention his name I am sure we all think of great movies like "Ben Hur" and "The Ten Commandments."  Another great movie featuring Charlton Heston playing the lead character is a 1961 classic called "El Cid."  For whatever reason this movie does not seem as readily available to view as his other movies.  That being said, there is a really memorable line in that movie.  Later on in the movie, El Cid captures the fortress of Valencia.  After the victory, his followers are begging El Cid to name himself as king of Valencia but instead he claims the crown for King Alfonso of Spain and has the crown delivered to the king.  Thus, it is said of El Cid:  "What a noble subject, if only he had a noble king."  In other words, the point being that El Cid was a more noble subject than was the king.  In short, El Cid was loyal to a king that was not deserving of his loyalty.  

Can the same thing be said of us?  Do we show our never-ending loyalty to someone or something that does not even deserve our loyalty?  How many of us go above and beyond for our job? . . . . for our profession?   We spend long, hard hours giving our best efforts for an employer that is not nearly as loyal to us as we are to it.  How many of us are loyal to friends that merely use us for what we give to them or what they can get from us?  How many in our society show their loyalty to drugs or drink and get nothing in return for their loyalty?  The only thing they git is the ruin of their lives . . .  their finances . . . their families so often pay the price as well.  

Being "loyal" is not the issue.  I am certainly not criticizing being loyal.  It is a good trait to have, without a doubt.  But that being said, I am only making the point that so many of us are loyal to people or things that are not worthy of our loyalty.  Not deserving of our loyalty.  Who then is worthy of such loyalty?   Of course the answer is quite clear:  God.  When we give our life to God, we are transformed as a new creature.  St. Paul writes:  " . . . and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. "  (Ephesians 4:17 ff)  Just like El Cid did everything on behalf of King Alfonso, we are called to do all our efforts on behalf of our King:  Christ the King!  And in so doing, we will begin to resemble Our Blessed Lord!  The characteristics of God will show forth in us when we give our heart to Him.  And this takes us back to what we were discussing earlier.   So many of us give our heart to something that is not worthy of our heart:  a company which we work for .  . . . a profession .. . .  . a habit  . . . . a brand name . . . . the list goes on and on.  We are called as Christians, though, to be loyal to God.  This takes making Him number one in our life.  As long as God is first and foremost in our life, everything else will fall into place. 

 St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday at 9:30 AM at the beautiful chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.  Join us as we hear the Word of God found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible.  Come dedicate one hour of your week to God.  Step away from the busy-ness of the world for just one hour and focus totally on God.  Come and worship Him.  Let Him feed you spiritually.   Receive the Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.