“THE LION OF JUDAH HAS ROUTED THE WOLVES”
Saint Matthew 7. 15-23
The Eighth Sunday after Trinity: 6 August Anno Domini 2006
Fr Watson
Jesus’ words are hard. The Lord speaks the truth, for He is "Truth," but sinners have great difficulty in accepting it. Christ does not warn you against monsters. Monsters are easily recognized, avoided, or fought against. This text does not warn against principled opponents of the Faith who have the integrity to be true to their own heathenism. These words of Christ are not telling you to be "on guard" against Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or Secular-Humanistic Atheism.
"Beware" He says. This is a word of urgent alarm. Beware of Pastors! That’s what the Chief Shepherd is saying. That’s how the text has continuing relevance for you today in 2006. Don’t be leery of King Ahab’s or King Manasseh’s false "prophets," they’re all dead and in hell. You have no fear that Balaam will give you bad advice or that Isaiah or Elijah might not be all they are claiming to be. The word "prophet" means a man who speaks for God. By New Testament times the word, when used, meant a man who interprets, gives commentary upon, proclaims and preaches the Word of God as contained in the Holy texts. Now obviously the Savior is not telling you to mark and avoid the Apostles or their successors. You are not on guard against Saint John, his words contained in his Evangel and his three epistles are Holy Spirit breathed. You are not to mark and avoid John’s successors, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Augustine, Luther, Loehe and Watson...in so far as their "prophecy," their teaching and preaching conforms to John’s words of Holy Scripture, which are Jesus’ words. That’s why the Lord specifies to beware of "false" prophets.
Why the concern with bogus, ersatz shepherds? The Lord says these men are "ravenous wolves." Cute pictures of fuzzy little cubs in National Geographic notwithstanding, wolves are predatory carnivores. The fact that "four-footed" wolves don’t attack people is not the point of this analogy of Christ’s. They stalk, attack, and brutally kill all types of wild animals and domestic stock. Wolves slaughter sheep. You are sheep because God says so; because He makes it so. Wolves are daily, hourly seeking to devour you. The chief wolf is of course really an ancient dragon, a slithering, snake, a liar and murderer from the beginning. Satan likes to think he prowls about like a lion (as Saint Peter notes) but the devil is no lion, only your Savior is the Lion of Judah, the brave deliverer.
Now, if you see a toothy enemy approaching you can be ready; ready to defend yourself with the appropriate weapons, or ready to run to safety. But Jesus continues with His wisdom: "who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous." They are killers hungry to tear into, and to eat your flesh, but they pretend to be sheep just like you. They are in the camouflage of the faith; they impersonate pastors.
You won’t know them by their handshake, smile, affection for your children, conversational skills, or physical care and help they provide for you and your family. You will only pierce their disguise by their works; that is by their teaching, preaching, and administration of the Holy Sacraments.
Dear lambs, dear friends, dear brother and sisters, you have the Word of the Lord to test all spirits. You have Jesus’ truth in His inscripturated word by which to measure and gauge all teaching and doctrine. You have His sacramental word to strengthen and nourish you. All false prophets will ultimately be "smoked out" by whether or not they "mirror," "icon," and put forth the real Prophet, the Son of God. It’s all about His obedience, not yours. The wolf will have you focus on your own prayer life, your own devotions, and studies, and good works, to the point that you stop accepting the Grace of the Atonement, the Crucifix, and you substitute it with your own ablazing busy-ness. When you have been seduced by wolves dressed as sheep; as shepherds, He was not! Jesus saw through their lies, vanity, and hypocrisy. When you flee your brethren who are being attacked and mauled by red tooth packs, Jesus never ran. Jesus is the genuine "King David," the anti-type of "Samson the strong." Your Lord, like Daniel braved the den of these pretend Lions, He stepped into the fiery furnace of their hatred and malice for you. Our Lord beat back their ferocious feeding frenzy by using His own precious Body as a weapon. You are forgiven in His bloody and torn carcass; for He died at the hands of these ravenous ones; the wolfish devil, the wolfish world, the wolf in you. Ah, the wolf-man that you are. Not Lon Chaney who becomes a were-beast only when the moon is full, but a sinful predator you do become daily. You see, this text does illustrate other wolves, to be sure; wolves who may reside in Rome, Geneva, St. Louis or Topeka. But also, the mirror of the Law shows you the shaggy, furry, blood-spattered face that you see when you pass the looking glass. You are wolf as well. Or, in the blessed exchange of Grace, you were the wolf, for Christ has skinned you with His Law, even as He was skinned on the Tree by the wolf’s fangs. But now the faithful Shepherd has risen from the dead. Now the victorious Prophet has draped over your naked body the skin of a Lamb, the skin of the Very Lamb of God, you are safe forever in the sheepcote of salvation.
The fruit is Christ’s Body and Blood. The fruit is Christ’s Word. That word is Jesus speaking to you: "I love you; I forgive you, you are mine and I am yours. I have for you a home, a table, food and drink, and the covering of My own robes of perfection and peace."
The fruit here, which you are fed every week, is that Forgiveness which is Jesus. If you don’t have it, if you don’t receive it, if it’s not preached into your ears, and placed on your tongues, than I am a false prophet who should be treated as was the wolf in Red Riding Hood. Again I say to all of you: though your sins are red as scarlet, in the Blood of Jesus you are white as snow, as pure as light, totally forgiven in Him and at one with Him. You are loved. Your Lord loves you. As you are branches of His vine, you too are fruit from His Body; His flesh & blood God/Man body, and also His Body the Holy, Christian and Apostolic Church.
Come forward again to the table where you feast on Jesus the pure Fruit of the Trinity’s love and care for you. Be at peace for the Lion of Judah has routed the wolves.
In the Name of The Father and of The Son + and of The Holy Ghost