The
Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
The
Sunday after Ascension Day
May
12, 2013
“Charity
shall cover a multitude of sins…”
1 Peter
4:7-8 “The end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober and watch unto
prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity
shall cover a multitude of sins.”
So speaks the Apostle Peter from the today’s
Epistle selection. Coming from arguably the most “human” and “real” Apostle,
this is a wonderful and blessed statement.
After all, Peter is one figure in the New Testament that perhaps all of
us can identify with in some way or another. If one has a bold or brash nature,
or if one has acted boldly or brashly in their lifetime, (and who hasn’t?), there
is Peter. If one has ever been afraid of telling the truth in the face of
strong consequences, there is Peter. And
yet, if one has ever boldly and firmly proclaimed, “Thou are the Christ; thou
art the Son of the living God”, there is Peter as well.
There can be no doubt that Peter became
a new and better man AFTER his denial of Jesus Christ. Yet, unlike Judas
Iscariot, who allowed Satan tempt him into the absolute depths of despair, so
much so that he took his own life, something better happened to Peter. In some
strange and mysterious way, the Holy Spirit changed him into a leader of the
apostolic band, at first in Jerusalem, and later in Rome. He became a pillar of
the early Church, and went on to inspire and to lead his early Christian
colleagues. In short Peter is a picture
of what God can do with us when we allow Him to do so.
Thus, perhaps it is so fitting that
Peter tells us that “Charity will cover a multitude of sins…” He is not
speaking of merely the relief of the poor and needy, although that is certainly
a component. No doubt he is speaking of the
form of love termed “caritas” in the Greek.
Unlike the other forms of love, namely eros (romantic, sensual love),
agape (fellowship), and philios (brotherly love), caritas is something else,
and may be the most interesting of all. Why might we say that?
We will submit to you that charity is
perhaps more complex and many faceted than the other forms of love, although
this is certainly a risky statement. The
romantic will certainly disavow this, as will the socialite; even the one
concerned with making great strides in the betterment of mankind through
brotherhood. Yet, if we consider each of
the loves just mentioned, note that all of them have some reward or end in
themselves, to some degree. After all,
the romantic seeks the possession of intimacy with the other person, while the
one engaged in agape seeks fellowship and communal activities as the end of
their activity. The same goes for the
one seeking to increase brotherhood and understanding. Again, there is a reward,
or payback, if you will, in each of these. Not that any of this is bad; far
from it. Instead, we bless God, and exclaim,
“Ecce, quam bonum!” (Behold, what a good and wonderful thing this is….)
No, what we seek to do is to draw a
distinction in the quality of love contained in caritas (charity). We want to explore why St. Peter would tell
us that it covers a multitude of sins.
Consider this: if one will accept that charity has no end in itself, no
inherent reward of payback in the same way as eros, agape, or even philos do, thus,
charity is more disinterested than the other forms of love. Note, please, that
we said disinterested, not un-interested, for there is a huge difference.
Charity seeks nothing but a benign view of all men and all situations. It seeks not to judge harshly or rashly. It seeks to have “unconditional positive
regard” for all. Thus, when Peter says it will cover a multitude of sins, he
may be on to something.
Properly done, a charitable view frames
one’s whole outlook on life and on the World. Instead of having a harsh,
judgmental outlook or predisposition, one will have a milder, less caustic view
of his environment and those whom he interacts in it. Instead of leaping to
judgment or condemnation, one can “step back”, so to speak, and allow for the
Holy Spirit to temper one’s own inherent acidity. This allows one to have a more moderate
reaction to things, and perhaps even less heartburn…
When charity rules in one’s heart, it
leads to an expression of that chief cardinal virtue in one’s daily activity. This, no doubt, makes life more pleasant for
the person practicing charity, and of course, for those that person meets, who
ordinarily might be on the receiving end of their scorn and denigration. Think of all the wasted energy and stress it
takes to be negative! Now, think of that same energy focused in a new, more
benign direction…
Now, perhaps we can come closer to what
the Apostle means when he says that charity will cover “the multitude of
sins.” Think of all the sins avoided
when one practices, habitually, the virtue of charity. For a succinct
discussion of this, we need only to recall St. Paul’s stirring recap of charity
found in Cor 13:4 1 Corinthians 13:1 - 14:1: “Though I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is
not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: but
whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease; whether there be knowledge,
it shall vanish away. 9 For
we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is
in part shall be done away. 11
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a
child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass,
darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even
as also I am known. 13 And
now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
It’s very difficult for us to top that
summation. We won’t even attempt to do so.
Yet, even as St. Paul tells us about charity, he doesn’t tell us how
to achieve it. When one considers Paul’s exhaustive knowledge of the failings
of man, learned through hard experience, as he suffered rejection and assault
on his missionary journeys, one certainly
knows it doesn’t come from the heart of Man.
No, there must be another source.
And so there is. As with all aspects of
one’s walk with Jesus, it is one based on dependence and trust. We know how
hard this is to hear and accept, we thoroughly modern and self-sufficient
people, yet it is true. We who are
Christians have to continually let God form our behavior through godly
submission and acceptance for His Will for our lives. In short, without the “bridle of the Holy
Spirit” on our rough and ready natures, charity is virtually impossible.
That is certainly not to say that
non-Christians can’t be charitable. That
would be wrong, for we all know people, although not religious, who behave well
and decently in their lives, even charitably.
What we are saying is that their source of love for mankind comes from a
humanistic source, perhaps based on agape or philos, but not necessarily
caritas. Of course, being ultimately
human-based, it has its limits. True
love inspired by the Holy Spirit is divne, and therefore inexhaustible. There is a difference.
Unfotunately, one who seeks to better
mankind from a humanistic point of view must ultimately turn to government as
the source of good and the arbiter of behavior.
This, in turn, means more laws and regulations, and thus less
freedom. So, the end result is that we
have less charity than before, because it is restricted, or constrcted, by
government.
Contrast that with the free, unlimited
love of God expressed in godly charity. Here is where we see the difference,
for as charity moves and is expressed, more freedom occurs and more pure love
is shown. As the Holy Spirit moves in our lives and we allow the love of God
inside us to focus outward, the condition of the world changes, just a bit.
When we really know and accept the love our Heavenly Father has for us, it has
to make us more buoyant and joyful. We
pray that this sense of love becomes so overwhelming that is spills out around
our edges into the world beyond. That is
when we can begin to practice charity habitually. Then, it is not the forced
smile, or the “we should be nice, because we should” syndrome. It is real love, real charity, and real
caritas for all we meet. That is when charity shall
cover a multitude of sins,” For, we have
been transformed into different people, who see love as their native state,
It doesn’t come from us. It comes from
the Source and Font of all love, in all its forms. It comes from the One who suffered the worst
the World could do to him, so that He could profess the ultimate Love for it,
and for us.
Let us all bless and praise the Lord
for that unspeakable gift. Let us all pray that we may practice charity
habitually in our lives.
1 Corinthians 13:13 - 14:1 13 And now abideth faith, hope,
charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
