Twelfth Sunday after Trinity,
2013
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
August 18th, 2013
Beloved in the Lord, consider these two words: sufficiency
and selflessness. We will submit to you
that this is the theme that runs through our Epistle and Gospel today. Regarding this theme of sufficiency and
selflessness, we hear the testimony of the Apostle Paul from the Epistle, as he
tells us, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think
anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;…”[i]
Let’s stop
for a moment and consider the word itself: sufficiency. Sufficiency means “to
meet ones needs, or the quality or state of being sufficient.”[ii] Thus, we can draw an
elemental conclusion that God meets our needs.
Yes, this is obviously true, but there is so much more that St. Paul is
talking about here. Perhaps a clue is
given in what comes next in the Epistle reading, when we hear this: 2
Corinthians 3:6: “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit
giveth life.”[iii]
What is St. Paul talking about here in regards to
sufficiency? Is he saying that God
certainly meets our needs, but perhaps in a way that we neither expect nor
deserve? Ah…perhaps. Let’s take a look
at the life of St. Paul to gain a better understanding of this. First of all, we know from his own testimony
in the Books of Acts and Philippians that Saul, later Paul, was a Jew’s
Jew. In Acts 26:5, we hear “that
after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.” Also in Acts
23:6, he proclaimed, “ Men and brethren,
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee.” In Philippians, we hear his famous
self description: (Philippians 3:5-6)
“Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the
law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning
zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law,
blameless.”
Let us “fast forward”, so to speak to today’s
selection from II Corinthians. Here is
this model Hebrew, a man totally imbued with the Law, proclaiming that he is no
longer sufficient of himself. That is, he is no longer filled with the
self-righteousness that comes from slavishly obeying a code. We know that under
the Law, one was saved by one’s works, i.e. following the law. Yet, even St. Paul admits, in several of his
epistles, that this is impossible.
Recall last week that we referenced the Mitzvoth, or the Rabbinic additions to Moses’ law, which eventually
became 613 commandments. Recall further that under the Law, if one offended in
one point, one was considered guilty of all. Thus, here we have an
impossibility. No one could obey the Law perfectly, being human and fallible. This brings to mind the disciples’ astonished
question, “Who then can be saved?”, from Matt. 19, when Christ made the amazing
statement that it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle, than
for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. Recall Christ’s amazing answer: “With
men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”[iv]
This brings us back to the discussion of
sufficiency. Just as God is sufficient
enough to change the hearts of some who worship money, so that they can love
Him and enter the Kingdom of God, so He is sufficient to affect a change in
this Pharisee. The change in St. Paul,
due to God’s complete sufficiency, was such that it changed the course of human
history through his evangelism and ministry. It was enough that, despite all of
the schisms, disagreements, objections and accusations surrounding him, St.
Paul was able to proclaim that God is his sufficiency. He was able to deliver a consistent, coherent
message of the Gospel, and to create an apostolic legacy through the laying on
of hands that continues unbroken to this day. We in the orthodox Anglican Communion
are blessed to continue that apostolic succession without interruption or
dismissal. It is our apostolic legacy, and a genuine blessing to us.
One might say, “Father, Stults, that’s all well and
good on the corporate level, but what about sufficiency on the individual
level? What does it mean to me?”
Simply this: if we, like the apostle Paul, can
proclaim that God is our sufficiency, it means that a dramatic and positive
change has happened in our lives. It means that deep down, we have had a shift
in allegiance. No longer do we look to
the illusory reinforcements of this life, nor to the deceitfulness of sin in
which they are sometimes wrapped, but in the completeness of God in our
beings. Again, what does this mean?
Ultimately, if one looks to the temporal realm for ultimate justification, or
better said, a complete reaffirmation of one’s peace, one will be disappointed.
Just as St. Paul found that adherence to the Law of Moses became insufficient
for him, as he became the chief minister to the Gentiles, so we must look to
the Limitless love of God to fill our incompleteness. Stated again, when we
become lost in the love of Jesus we will find our true selves, and be
sufficient. We will, through a daily surrender of the will, and a constant
prayer that God’s will be done in us, know that God is all in all. Then, as we
go about our daily lives in whatever callings we find ourselves, all will be
sufficient. There will not be a
thirsting, empty, ravenous need for self-aggrandizement. There will not be a craving for something
more, something on the horizon, unless it is a craving to know God better and
better. God will be our sufficiency, and
we will know it.
We think that’s when life truly begins for the
Christian. When we say, “life”, we mean,
of course, the realization that the Kingdom of God is upon us. Recall the scene
from Mark 12, where a scribe asks Christ what is the great commandment in the
Law. Recall that Christ answered him with what we know as the Summary of the
Law: Love God with all of your being, and love your neighbor as yourself. This
same scribe repeats back what Jesus has said, but with the wise conclusion that
to love God as much as one can, and to love his neighbor as himself “is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”[v] This answer obviously pleased our Lord,
because he said, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”[vi] This scribe realized that
the “golden kernel” of faith, so to speak, is not transactional, based on
works, but is something far more profound.
Life with God is based on relationships: ours to Him, and ours to our
fellow man. When we grasp this point, we too are not far from the Kingdom of
God.
Our selfhood falls away as our sufficiency in God
increases. Not that we ever lose ourselves completely, for we are separate and
distinct beings and always will be. This is especially true in our day-to-day
struggle with the old man, who is always with us. Yet, as continue to affirm the sufficiency of
God in us, the old man loses his grip on us, and we continue to grow as new
creatures in Christ. This growth begins now, today, and continues everyday as
we grow in Christ.
Yes, separate and distinct as we are, yet growing
in relationship with God, what will be the end of all this? How can our finitude be merged into His
Infinitude? This is a great mystery and
one we cannot answer or begin to comprehend in this realm. Yet, we do know this: as our realization of
His Sufficiency in us grows, we become happier, more joyful and more serene.
Our lives in this world, at least from an interior point of view, become
better. Our externals will still be
challenging, no doubt about that. In the end, however, it does not really
matter what our external conditions are, because in the deep secret recesses of
our souls, we are sufficient. As difficult, pressing, and downright troublesome
as our daily lives sometimes are, we know one thing as we seek the Father’s Face:
all will be well. As this realization
grows, we too will be able to proclaim with St. Paul: ”Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;”
For this, we give undying thanks and praise to Him
who completes all in all: our Lord, our God, and our Sufficiency.
Jude 1:25 “To the only wise God
our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
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