Glory and Appearance

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church

Transfiguration, 2017

Last week we read about Abraham being called upon to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Although in God’s ultimate mercy, he was not required to complete the act, only to show a willingness to do so. Abraham was foreshadowing the complete sacrifice God the Father would perform for us in Jesus. From this, we see that sacrifice is a key theme in Christianity to repair relationships.

In this week’s Gospel, we hear of an event that changed three of the Apostles, James, John and Peter's relationship to Christ. In this passage, we see Christ and the apostles going up into a high mountain, where he is transfigured before them. He is changed from being the great Teacher into something else: deity. From this time on, none of these three men could see Christ in the same way as before.

Imagine the scene: up on the mountain, Christ begins to pray, and as he does, His clothing begins to glisten and whiten, and his face was changed. He is glorified. Next, two men appear with him, Moses and Elijah, who also are in a glorified state. The engage Christ in conversation, talking with Him about his upcoming death in Jerusalem.

The situation is very rich in symbolism and meaning, It affected how the Disciples saw Christ, and how we should see him today.

First, Christ's appearance is not something of this world. His face and clothing take on a otherworldly shine; in fact they “glisten.” What does this mean? Simply, that for a while, Jesus took on a glorified nature, or as one commentator says, a foretaste of the glory to come. He is no longer just Jesus the Man, but now shows his divine nature as Christ the Lord. He appears in a non-earthly form that only those of another realm can take. The disciples cannot make any other claim.

Next, Jesus is joined by two men, Moses and Elijah. This is important to us for at least two reasons. First, it shows Jesus as the living bridge between the Old Testament and the New. Moses represents the Law, while Elijah represents the Prophets.

Here are two pillars of the Old Testament meeting with Him who will establish the New Testament in His Blood.. The validity of the Old and New together is affirmed.

Second, it shows us that the saints of the Old Testament Church will be saved. Moses and Elijah's presence with Jesus affirms this. This is important, for it shows that someday, in God's own time, the vail will be taken away from the Jews' recognition of Jesus. They will see Jesus as the Messiah, and in so doing, will embrace salvation. What we do not know is when.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: how do we see Jesus? Do we see Him merely as the great Teacher? Do we see Him as the great social revolutionary? Do we see him as the compassionate healer?

Yes, we should see him as all of these ways. Yet, there is one more way we must see Jesus in light of this Biblical passage. Recall the last two great happenings in this passage. First, a cloud overshadowed them, causing them great concern, even fear. Many scholars agree that this was the great Glory Cloud that covered the Tabernacle in the wilderness and actually prevented Moses from entering.¹ It also filled the Temple and was so dense that even the priests could not minister in it. Called the Shikinah Glory Cloud, it is believed to contain thousands and thousands of saints and heavenly beings. Out of the cloud came a great voice. This voice said, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.”

Considering these events from Scripture, I ask you again: how are we to see Jesus? The answer should be plain. Not just the great Teacher, not just the great Healer, but who He really is, the Son of God. Keep in mind that this event happened a little over a week after Peter's confession that Jesus was the Son of God. Peter was given the faith to say that. Now, in God's glorious Will, Peter actually sees Jesus in His glorified state, as God. What a glorious gift that was!

We should do the same. Yes, we should admire Jesus the sinless man, while we worship Jesus as the true and only Son of God. There is only one Christ, perfect man and perfect God. We Christians are blessed to know both, through the wonderful words of Scripture, and the glorious Sacrament of the Altar. The words of the Bible tells us who He is, and the Sacrament lets us unite with Him in a real and very personal way. Amen.

1Matthew Henry, Luke 9

Right Thinking and Repentance

9^th Sunday in Trinity 2017

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

St. Paul's Anglican Church

August 13, 2017

We read a very serious O.T, today from Ezekiel. It speaks of the gross ingratitude of man in response to the graciousness of God.

Let's discuss some information about Ezekiel himself. According to noted O.T. scholars Keil and Delitszch, Ezekiel,” יחזקאל Vulgate Ezechiel, while Luther, after the example of the lxx, writes the name Hesekiel, was the son of Busi, of priestly descent, and was carried away captive into exile to Babylon in the year 599 b.c. - i.e., in the eleventh year before the destruction of Jerusalem - along with King Jehoiachin, the nobles of the kingdom, many priests, and the better class of the population of Jerusalem and of Judah (Eze 1:2; Eze 40:1; cf. 2Ki 24:14.; Jer 29:1). He lived there in the northern part of Mesopotamia, on the banks of the Chaboras, married, and in his own house, amidst a colony of banished Jews, in a place called Tel-abib (Eze 1:1; Eze 3:15, Eze 3:24; Eze 8:1; Eze 24:18). In the fifth year of his banishment, i.e., 595 b.c., he was called to be a prophet of the Lord, and laboured in this official position, as may be shown, twenty-two years; for the latest of his prophecies is dated in the twenty-seventh year of his exile, i.e., 572 b.c. (Eze 29:17).”ⁱ

Ezekiel was a witness to the fulfillment of God’s prophecy concerning Israel and Judah. Beginning in Deuteronomy and continuing through all of the books prior to Ezekiel, the Jews had heard the same message again and again; stay in covenant with Almighty God, or suffer the consequences. This message they ignored and continued to run after false gods and various pagan religious practices, including ritual drunkenness and ritual fornication. They worshipped the Baals and Ashtoreth, as well as Chemosh and Milcom, who were the abominable idols of the Canaanites. We learn in Ezekiel that the elders of the Jews had even carved out secret rooms in the Temple of Solomon where they offered incense to various idols.

We know the history that followed Israel’s and Judah spiritual whoredom. First, the Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom were carried away and dispersed into the vast Assyrian Empire as a result of their gross idolatry. Next, the Babylonian suzerain Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and carried away the “cream of the crop”, so to speak, of Judah. The Prophet Daniel was among those carried away. King Jehoiakim became a tributary. Failing to see God’s Hand in their tribulations, this king rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, whereupon he marched again to Jerusalem, besieged it, and eventually took it again. This time, the Babylonian king carried away the king, his court, and many of the skilled artisans, warriors, priests and carpenters. He left a remnant of the people, over which he appointed Jehoiakin’s uncle, Mattaniah, whom he renamed Zedekiah. This occurred during the prophecy of Jeremiah, who warned the people repeatedly of their fate if they did not repent. Meanwhile, the various false prophets concurrent with him were prophesying prosperity and peace. As we know, Jeremiah was eventually proved right, although he was accused of speaking treason against the king and was imprisoned.

After the second fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah, speaking for God, told the people to bear the Babylonian yoke with patience and all would be well with them. Even at this point, the leaders of Judah refused to hear the Word of God, but instead rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, broke their treaty with him and turned to Egypt for help, the very nation which held them in slavery for 400 years.

This was absurd and futile. The Egyptians were smashed by the Babylonians, and now perfidious Jerusalem was to feel the full fury of Nebuchadnezzar, who had been remarkably restrained up to this point. His forces marched back to Jerusalem and besieged it again. Eventually, the city was starved out. The walls of Jerusalem were breached, and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign, the city was completely destroyed. The fabulous Temple of Solomon was thoroughly looted and destroyed as well. Nebuchadnezzar left Jerusalem a smoking heap of stones.

As we know from the book of Jeremiah, Zedekiah, his court, and his top military men tried to escape through a hole in the wall. They were captured and brought to Riblah. Here, Zedekiah’s sons were killed before his eyes, and Zedekiah himself was blinded.

He was led in chains back to Babylon, where he spent his days as a captive, subject king to Nebuchadnezzar. Judah as a nation had been effectively destroyed.ⁱⁱ

In the section of Ezekiel we read today the destruction of Jerusalem, had not happened yet. The final blow had not yet been struck against the heart of Judah. Yet, we see in the reading that the mindset that would lead to it was very much present among the exiles to which Ezekiel was attached. In this passage, God speaks of those who take success as their own, without any recognition of the goodness of God. The elders of Israel came to Ezekiel seeking the counsel of God, yet their innermost hearts and spirits were not of God. In fact, they had put the stumbling block of their idolatry in front of the faces and had idolatry in their heart, even while they were seeking the counsel of God. Obviously, they were “hedging their bets”, so to speak. They obviously wanted to enjoy the notorious sensuality and wanton-ness of their pagan practices, while pretending to be holy towards the God of Israel. This cannot be.

Our God is a holy God, who will not tolerate our allegiance to any sort of idolatry. He will not allow His Glory to be diffused with another. He cannot allow His Holiness to be diluted in a believer’s heart, or to be mixed with an idol of any sort, if one is to enjoy true fellowship with Him. If we have deep hatred, animosity, or unrepented sin abiding in us when we enter the House of God, we cannot offer a worthy sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, because our spiritual selves are in turmoil due to sin. One may, like these elders of Israel, go through the motions of religiosity, yet never really get close to God.

The purpose of religion is not merely to do ritualistic things for God, but to develop a deep and abiding relationship with the Holy Trinity. Thus, when Christ speaks in Luke 17:21 regarding the Kingdom of God, “And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: ²¹ Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” This is very akin to the statement Jesus made in John 14:23 where he says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” This certainly sounds like a relationship situation to me.

This sense of relationship is exactly what is missing from the Jewish elders with whom Ezekiel dealt. God is not minded to listen to them because they are not really interested in a relationship with Him. They only want to use God to get what they want, or to hear what they want. They want to hear are the words of the false prophets saying, “Peace, Peace”, when there is no peace. Eventually, through Ezekiel, God told them that He will turn His face from those who deceive themselves with idols and will remove them from their land. This will be done not out of cruelty, but rather out of chastisement, so that Judah would eventually repent herself of her idolatry.

As later history would prove, God did remove Judah from the Promised Land. Judah did repent and was restored, but to a lesser degree until the time of the Ptolemeys. By this time, the Jews were so against idolatry that it led to the rise of the Pharisees, who became jealous guardians of the Law.

The point for today is that we too must remove any idols in our hearts, or any stumbling blocks of iniquity that impede our relationship with Almighty God. All of us have them, and for us to enjoy the fullest fellowship with God, they must be removed. The Holy Spirit will keep pointing to them until one of two things happens. Either we, with the help of the Holy Ghost, remove them in order to enjoy a fuller experience with God, or we will grow hardened in our sinfulness until a fuller relationship loses its value to us.

Pray God that this does not happen to any of us, because it had serious consequences. Rather than experiencing the wonderful fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, contentment, godliness and self control, we will bear the evil fruit of our natural natures: hate, discontent, malice, unease, fear, and infidelity.

In the words of St. Paul himself, he me! May it never be! We pray that all of us may continue to take daily inventory of ourselves and of our relationship with Almighty God in Christ. Unlike those idolatrous men in Ezekiel whom God would not hear, we will enjoy the warm spiritual embrace of our Heavenly Father. He will hear us. He will come to us and tabernacle with us. He will make His Face to shine upon us. Through His blessed Holy Spirit, He will give us peace, now and forever.

AMEN.

i Kiel and Delitzsch, “Ezekiel”, BW 7.0

ii ibid

“Charity shall cover a multitude of sins…”

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul's Anglican Church

Sunday after Ascension

May 28, 2017

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 the most “human” and “real” Apostle, this is a wonderful and blessed statement. Peter is one figure that 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.

Peter became a new and better man AFTER his denial of Jesus Christ. Yet, unlike Judas Iscariot, who allowed Satan to tempt him into the depths of despair, something better happened to Peter. 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 the early Christians. Peter is a picture of what God can do with us when we allow Him to do so.

Thus, it is so fitting that Peter tells us,“Charity will cover a multitude of sins…” He is not speaking of merely the relief of the poor and needy. He is speaking of the form of love termed “caritas” in the Greek. Unlike the other forms of love: 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?

Charity is more complex and many-faceted than the other forms of love The romantic will disavow this, as will the socialite; even the one concerned with making great strides in the betterment of mankind.Yet, if we consider each of the loves just mentioned, note that they have some reward or end in themselves.

The romantic seeks the possession of intimacy with the other person, while the one engaged in agape seeks fellowship and communal activities. The same goes for the one seeking to increase brotherhood and understanding, philios. There is a reward, or payback, 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 it is….)

What we seek to do is to draw a distinction in the quality of love contained in caritas (charity). Why would St. Peter would tell us that it covers a multitude of sins? Consider this: charity has no end in itself, no inherent reward as eros, agape, or even philos do; thus, charity is more disinterested. Note 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. When Peter says it will cover a multitude of sins, he is on to something.

A charitable view frames one’s whole outlook on life and the World. Instead of having a harsh, judgmental outlook, one will have a milder, less caustic view of those around him. Instead of leaping to judgment or condemnation, one can “step back”, and allow the Holy Spirit to temper one’s own inherent acidity. This allows for a more moderate reaction to things, and perhaps even less heartburn…

When charity rules, it leads to that chief cardinal virtue in one’s daily activity. This makes life more pleasant for the person practicing charity, and for those that person meets, who might be on the receiving end of their scorn and denigration. Think of all the energy and stress it takes to be negative! Now, think of that same energy focused in a new, more positive direction…

Now, we 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 discussion of this, 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.”

We cannot top that summation. Yet, even as St. Paul tells us about charity, he doesn’t tell us how to achieve it. When one considers Paul’s knowledge of the failings of man, learned through hard experience on his missionary journeys, one certainly knows charity 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, yet it is true. We Christians have to continually let God form our behavior through godly submission to His Will for our lives. Without the “bridle of the Holy Spirit” on our rough and ready natures, charity is virtually impossible.

That is not to say that non-Christians can’t be charitable. 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 comes from a humanistic source, perhaps based on agape or philos, but not necessarily caritas. Being human-based, it has its limits. True love inspired by the Holy Spirit is inexhaustible. There is a difference.

Let us celebrate the free, unlimited love of God expressed in charity. Here is where we see the difference, for as charity moves and is expressed, 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, person by person.

When we accept the love of our Heavenly Father, it makes us more buoyant and joyful. When this love becomes so great, it 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,” We have been transformed into different people, who live in love as their native state.

It doesn’t come from us. It comes from the One who suffered the worst the World could do to him, so that He could demonstrate love for it, and for us.

1 Corinthians 13:13 - 14:1 ¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Multitudes, Miracles and Mercy

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul's Anglican Church

Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 2017

Our Gospel for the day is the story of an incredible miracle: the feeding of the four thousand. This miracle is recorded only in the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Mark. The other Gospel writers do not make a note of this amazing account, yet it is interesting that all four Gospels tell of the feeding of the five thousand. One can only surmise why…

Also, various differences abound between the two miracles. Some commentators have noted the difference in emphasis on Christ’s taking action, as opposed to the feeding of the 5,000, where Christ posed the question and the Disciples responded. In this case, Christ notes that the crowd has been with Him so long without food and has compassion on them. When He fed the five thousand, his motive for compassion was that they resembled sheep without a shepherd.¹ In addition, other differences abound, such as the contrast between this group's being commanded to sit on the ground, whereas the five thousand sat on grass, because “there was much grass in the place.”² This indicates to some scholars l that the locale was different, much more desolate, and/or it was a different time of year.³ In addition, the numbers here noted were fewer (four thousand vs. five thousand) and available supply of food larger (seven loaves vs. five and “a few” small fish vs. two).⁴

While these are interesting contrasts, they do not highlight the key difference between the two accounts. We must go back to St. Augustine to see the biggest contrast, namely that the people fed in this story were not primarily Jews, but Gentiles. This is significant. In this account, Jesus and his disciples have been passing by the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Decapolis. This region was comprised of ten cities of primarily Hellenistic culture. They were acquainted with the Jewish culture near to them, but were not tolerant of it. This was due in part to the Semitic practice of male circumcision, which they regarded as idolatrous, because it created imperfect physical specimens. The Jews, for their part, looked at the Greek emphasis on male/male relationships with horror and disgust, considering them as pedophiles and sodomites. Thus, one can see that this was a fertile breeding ground for conflict.

Yet, into this area, Christ spread his abundant mercy and compassion. Previously, in the 7^th chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Christ healed a deaf man and a Syrophoenician woman, both Gentiles. He also castigated the Pharisees for their failure to notice the difference between ritual defilement and actual defilement, I.e. the difference between eating so-called “unclean” foods vs. defiling words and actions that come out of people. Now in this arena of Gentile activity, He confronts the Disciples’ own cultural bias: their complete distaste for the Gentile world. We have seen that this particular group has been with Christ for three days without food. He had been healing them of various ailments and diseases; evidently their utter need for this outweighed their need for food. Christ in His mercy observed their desperation for food, while noting that He didn’t want to send them away, for fear of many fainting on the way home. Yet, when Christ asks His Disciples about this, their response to Him is to answer with a question, almost flippantly, Mark 8:4”And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?”

Have they already forgotten the miracle feeding of the five thousand, which had previously occurred? Did they really not know Who was with them? Obviously, not. In addition, one commentator thinks that they were not that concerned about this group simply because they were Gentiles. Their attitude was, “Send them away”, or as Marie Antoinette once purportedly said to the malnourished French peasantry, “Let them eat cake!” While there is doubt she really said this, there is probably much less doubt as to the Disciples’ concern for this Gentile crowd. After all, they were Gentiles, possibly even Greeks, and thus a lower class of humanity. They were not the Chosen Ones.

Jesus Christ, in all His mercy and loving-kindness, does not make this distinction. All He knew is that here were four thousand souls, Jewish or not, who were very, very hungry. So in similar fashion to the feeding of the five thousand, he had the people sit, took what food was available, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples for distribution. In the end, all eat and are satisfied. How glorious that simple meal must have been! Looking at the entire situation, how glorious must have Christ’s Presence among them! If one is able to hold together a crowd of 4,000 people for three days without sustenance and yet without coercion, how incredible this is. Only one man could do this, Jesus Christ.

We should give thanks for this account of Scripture. We should give thanks for it because it indicates our inclusion in the heavenly family. It indicates without doubt that we “wild olive branches” have been grafted into the true Vine of hope and salvation.⁵ Finally, if for no other reason, we should give thanks because it also foreshadows the great sacrifice at Calvary yet to come. If Christ had not meant to save us Gentile sheep, this feeding wouldn’t have happened. It is even more remarkable in the face of Christ’s own words, when He said, Matthew 15:24 ²⁴ "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

This statement seems incredible at first, but it was necessary for Jesus to be sent to Israel first. Not only to fulfill all Biblical prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah, which is critical, but also that the Jews be given the first chance to hear the Good News. In the impenetrable mystery of God, they chose to reject it; at least their leaders did. This too was meant in some strange and mysterious way.

It is only fitting that God’s Chosen People have the bittersweet duty of offering up the One, Perfect, and Complete Sacrifice, Jesus the spotless Lamb of God, even if they didn’t know it at the time. In fact, most Jews still don’t recognize it, because it has not suited God the Father to remove the “veil” over their hearts and minds. Their leaders meant Jesus’ death as a means of ridding themselves of a problem. It was Caiphas the Chief Priest who said, “…it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not”.⁶ Unbeknownst to them, God also had a plan of ridding the world of a problem, the problem of sin.

We Christians know that we are indeed free from sin; not that we don’t commit it, for all of us sin everyday in some fashion or another. Yet, we are free from sin because we are able, because of Christ’s sacrifice, to renounce sin’s power over us. Yes, we sin, but we can confess, repent and receive absolution through Christ our Lord. In time, as we continue this lifelong process, we sin less and less as we grow in holiness.

Will we ever cease from sinning? No, we will cease from sin only when we pass from the Church Militant on Earth into the Church Expectant and then finally, into the Church Triumphant in Heaven. Then, truly, you and I will rest from labor, from sin, and even from repentance. We shall be glorified; we shall be perfected.

We are not there yet. We still have the daily battle against the World, the Flesh and the Devil. We, like the disciples, have to battle with our own biases and our distastes for people and the things that they do. We too have to struggle against these things and we have to defeat them in the Name of Christ.

We challenge you to examine your motives and your impulses for these considerations. If they are godly, cherish them and be led by them. If they are not, cast them away. Life is too short to be spent in unworthy judgments. The life to come is too long to be forfeited, or to be lived in some inferior state, even in Heaven, due to unshriven earthly sin. This is a serious consideration.

Some two thousand years ago, Christ began the process of breaking through sin, prejudice, and ill will. He challenged his own disciples’ beliefs. He affirmed his own magnanimous, all merciful nature. He extended, almost by proxy, our possibility of salvation. He fed four thousand people.

Mark 8:8 ^“So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.”

1 Coffman Commentaries, http://www.searchgodsword.org

2 John 6:10

3 Cofman, op. cit.

4 Ibid

5 Rom 11: 17-21

6 John 11:50

“Ascension and Ascendance…”

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

Ascension Thursday, 2017

Acts 1:9 ^“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

Tonight we celebrate an important feast of the Christian year: the Feast of the Ascension. Ascension marks the end of Christ’s time on earth, or, as one commentator put it, it is the “capstone of his earthly ministry.” ¹ It also clearly identifies Christ as Divine, as he is received up into glory in the sight of the disciples. It has important theological reasons for its pre-eminence as well. Chief among these is Christ’s physical ascension, as he took his body (and Man’s nature) to heaven with him.

One may surmise that if Christians really understood the significance of the Ascension, attendance would be high. If we really understood that the Ascension tells us that Christ isn't just another great Teacher, but is Lord and God, our churches would be full on this night.

First, let us recognize that the Ascension does sum up Christ’s ministry. He told his disciples, “I came from the Father and now I go back to the Father.” Christ came from on high, to tabernacle with us and to take our nature upon him. He was born naturally; he grew, matured, and became a man. He taught, healed, did miracles, drew crowds and amazed many. He gathered disciples, drew the ire of the Jewish authorities, was accused falsely and ultimately killed by sinful men.

If this was all, Jesus Christ would have been just another great man. But, we know that this was not all. On Easter morning, Christ rose from the dead, and showed that death had no power over Him. As St. Paul says in Colossians 2:15 ¹⁵ “And having spoiled ¹ principalities and powers, he ² made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in ³ it.” The Geneva Bible notes say, “The cross was a chariot of triumph. No conqueror could have triumphed so gloriously in his chariot, as Christ did upon the cross.”

The Resurrection is the greatest phenomena that mortals can imagine. By it, man’s greatest nemesis, Death, is defeated. Yet, even the Resurrection is not enough to completely fulfill Christ’s Ministry. If He had risen from the dead, merely to spend another 70 or 80 years before succumbing to physical death, there would be no ultimate victory.

Christ led His Disciples out to Bethany, teaching them on the way. As He blessed them, lifting up His Hands, He was lifted up into Heaven, until a cloud received Him out of their sight. This is the same Cloud that covered the Tabernacle in the Wilderness when Moses spoke with God. It is the same Cloud that Ezekiel saw from the inside out, full of innumerable saints of God.

Christ entered into this Cloud and into Glory, but not just as the great Teacher, not just the great Miracle worker, nor even as the Great Martyr for Righteousness’ sake. He entered as the Son of God returning to His Father. Imagine the scene in Heaven as Christ returned to take his rightful place at the Father’s right hand. What a celebration, what a mighty shout of triumph there must have been from an innumerable

number of angels! Yet, even at this mighty moment of victory and joy, Christ does not forget His Disciples. He dispatches two angels, who say to them, “Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Even in His hour of triumph, Jesus thought of us.

Thus, Jesus takes his rightful place at the right hand of God the Father. Having done all that He was to do, having served as the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the World”. He is enthroned on high to receive everlasting glory and honor and dominion.

He thus completes the great Cycle of Salvation, beginning with his Incarnation, His Nativity, His Atonement, His Resurrection, and finally, His Ascension.

Ascension also defines our salvation. When Christ ascended into Heaven, He wasn’t just an ethereal spirit, or an apparition. No, Christ took a real flesh and blood body with Him to Heaven. This is important. We know that just as Christ rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, so shall we. He took our human nature with Him to be glorified and exalted forever. What Christ did not assume, he could not justify. What he did not take to Heaven, He could not glorify. Yet, He did. In his Incarnation, He took our human nature upon Him and atoned for it on the Cross. In His Resurrection, He arose in his Human Body, thus giving it (and us) victory over the grave. Finally, in His Ascension, He arose to Heaven, glorifying our natures and sealing our Salvation.

On the Last Day, Christ shall call all from their graves and they shall appear for judgment in their flesh. Those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation will reign with Him in eternal glory. Those who rejected Christ in their lifetimes on earth will also be rejected. There will indeed be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I weep for the unredeemed, for those who know not Christ, for they know not what they are going to lose forever. Pray God that we can minister to some of them, to give them the Good News of Salvation.

Thus, it is fitting and right that we give thanks and praise this night. For now is Christ our Lord glorified and magnified. Now has Christ our Lord taken His rightful place as Son and Heir to the Kingdom, to regain the glory he had from everlasting with the Father. He accomplished his mighty mission of salvation. His cry from the Cross, “It is finished!” attests to that. Pray God that those words ring in our innermost souls.

Without the Ascension, there would be no transcendent Holy Ghost to cheer, guide and strengthen us. Remember that Christ said in John 16:7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

These are blessed words. Jesus is promising that He will send us a Helper if He returns to Heaven. This Helper, this Comforter is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, God Himself, to be with us forever.

This is the promise that Christ sealed for us in His Ascension. This is how he defined our salvation, for, as He is, so shall we be.

Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

1 Merill Unger Commentary

Excuses and Calling

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul's Anglican Church

The Second Sunday after Trinity

June 9, 2017

Our Gospel for the day contains one of the great parables in Christendom, that of the Great Supper. The reason that it has such significance is that it contains themes that are central to our salvation and to the Christian faith in general. It contains such themes as: the Grace of God, our election in Christ, and our response to the call of God. All of these themes are contained in about eight Bible verses. If you ever doubt that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God, this passage should dissuade you from that position.

The setting is this: Christ is in the home of a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath, having been invited to dine with him. The Pharisees “watched Him”, trying to find a way to trap him in his talk. Recall, Jesus has just healed a man of the dropsy, after having asked the Pharisees whether it was legal to heal on the Sabbath or not, to which they gave no answer. He equated healing the man with pulling out an ox or an ass that had fallen into a ditch on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees were speechless, because the answer is self-evident.

Christ then instructs his listeners about humility, telling them to assume the lowest place at a feast, “lest a more honourable man” be bidden of him. After this lesson, a listener says, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”

This naturally leads Jesus into this truly remarkable parable in today’s Gospel selection. He begins with, “A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:” Who is this “certain man”? We can safely assume that the “certain man” is God the Father. We can also safely assume that this symbolizes the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, where the believer and Christ are co-joined spiritually in ecstatic union eternally in Heaven. This has been symbolized by a banquet that occurs eternally.

What is interesting here is that St. Luke doesn’t tell us why the “Great Man” prepared the great supper. Perhaps, like God the Father, he just desired to do it. This is an aspect of the mysterious divine Will of God that we will never understand, except to acknowledge with humble hearts that God wants to save us! God, who is serene, unknowable, yet knowing all things, desires you to have eternal, blissful fellowship with Him. Why?

The Bible tells us God’s motivation for this is love and that “we love Him because He first loved us.” (1John 4:19) Even if we can get around the enormity of His love for us, the question remains, Why? Why does He love us so absolutely, so completely? No one has that answer, but perhaps some hints of it lie in this parable.

The Great Man sends his servant to call those who have been “bidden” to the supper. Who is this “servant”? It could have been one of the prophets: Jeremiah, Jonah, Isaiah, Zechariah or one of the others whom God sent to call Israel and Judah to repentance. Think of it. God sent prophets for several hundred years to speak to his people. Sadly, the vast majority of them were martyred. The “servant” could be also be a figure for Christ Himself, who was sent to preach to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This thought echoes the idea of the Messiah as the suffering servant in the Book of Isaiah.

At any rate, this parable was certainly preached against Israel, and more specifically, the Scribes and the Pharisees. These were the leaders of the Chosen People, those who had been given the Law, the Prophets, the Covenant and the Promises. They were to be a kingdom of priests, leading all mankind to righteousness through a right relationship with God.

We know what happened. In the words of the parable, “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” For example, one man bought a piece of land and needed to go see it. He was too busy with business to care for God. Another had just purchased five yoke of oxen and needed to try them out. He was too busy with his new purchase to come to the supper. The last man had just married a wife and thus was too entangled in family and personal relationships to get involved with the supper.

The point is this: Israel was offered salvation and eternal fellowship with God, but rejected it in favor of worldly things. Actually, it got much worse, as Israel chose false, heathen idols over the one true God who brought them out of bondage in Egypt In the book of Ezekiel, we are even told that the Temple courtyard itself was filled with pagan statues and idols. Over time, Israel would utterly reject God.

What is God’s response to all this? Christ tells us that the “Lord of the manor” turns from his invitees to call the poor, the maimed, the crippled and the blind. He thus turned from the Chosen People to the Gentiles. Unflattering as it may seem, we are the poor, the halt and the blind. St. Paul reminds us that we, the Gentiles, are the “wild root” grafted into the true vine. He also tells us never to exult in our inclusion over the Jews, simply because those whom God has grafted in, may also be grafted out as well.

“Yet there is room.” Even after the servant has scoured the city, there is still room in the Lord’s house. So, the Great Man tells his servant to go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. When we hear this, we think of Christ’s all-gracious call from the Cross. Remember when He said, in John 12:32 “ And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” It also refers to Christ’s instructions in Mat 28:19: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

This parable also hints at judgment. After the house is filled, the Great Man says, “For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” What this says is that those who exclude God from their lives will in turn be excluded with God for eternity. This is just, because God is just. He will not force Himself on anyone, but will continue issuing gracious calls until death overtakes the unbeliever. They, in turn, will continue in exclusion from God. Exclusion from God means exclusion from all good. That is, no warmth, no love, no mercy, no grace, no pleasure. Since God is all good, the opposite of God is all non-good. That thought for me is too terrible for me.

So, as incredible as it may seem, this little passage of eight verses is the Gospel in a nutshell. God creates something good, offers it to some members of mankind, who reject it. God then calls others, who accept his graciousness and are saved.

In the Bible, we see Israel rejecting God, embracing idols and falling away, only to be punished until they seek repentance. Seeing this we may be tempted to judge. But, we can’t do it. Just as Israel was to be the role model for mankind in righteousness, they are also examples of our human-ness. You see, we too at various times “begin with one consent to make excuse” in little and big ways.

The question is this, when God calls us, how do we respond? When God calls us to church, or to Bible study, or to a certain church ministry such as choir, or altar guild, or to ground work around the church, how do we respond? If one were to substitute modern excuses for those given in the parable, we’d find it is exactly the same as in Christ’s time.

But, on the positive side, when we do respond to God, we get to “taste of the supper”. We taste of the sweetness of God. We taste of the fulfillment of our being, or as St. Francis once said, we fill the “God-sized hole” in our souls.

Beloved, when we answer the call of God, and when we don’t make excuses, we will do the things that please Him. We will begin to live in the eternal “Now” and we will experience not only a sense of joy and serenity here on earth, but we will also be looking forward to that eternal, ecstatic, perfect banquet with God.

Luke 14:17“And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.”

Trinity Sunday 2017

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church

June 11, 2017

Today we celebrating and ponder together the central mystery of the Christian faith, out of which all other mysteries flow. At this, some may say, “Father Stults, that’s a mighty big claim. Are you sure about that?” This priest will answer, “Without a doubt, for out of this mystery comes the very nature of God Himself, and thus His dealings with us.”

Today, we celebrate the wonderful mystery of the Holy Trinity. Today, we ponder anew the mind-boggling nature of God, as we recognize the makeup of the Divine Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Today, we are reminded of the completely peculiar and distinctive nature of Christianity at its very core.

Let us recap. God is one Being, in which there are three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods. There are not three Fathers. There are not three Sons. There are not three Holy Spirits. There is one Father, one Son, and one Holy Ghost, all of which are God, and all of which are co-eternal, co-existent, and co-eternal. All three Persons of the Holy Trinity are God, yet the Father is not the Son, nor the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father, nor the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son. Yet, all are God, without co-mixture, or confusion.

Even though the members of the Holy Trinity are co-equal, why does Jesus say in John 14:28, “…for my father is greater than I.” Isn’t this an apparent contradiction to historic theology? Well, of course our Lord is correct.

Jesus is inferior to His Father in respect to His manhood, yet He is equal to his Father in respect to his Godhood. As far as the Divine Community is concerned, Jesus is equal to his Father, for, as He said in John 10;30, “I and my Father are one.” Recall how this statement so infuriated the Jews that they picked up stones to stone Him.

So it has always been with the Holy Trinity. For those not of the community of faith, it is a source of infuriation, or of disbelief, or of scorn. St Paul once remarked in 1 Corinthians 1:23 ²³ But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; “ The same can be said in boldface with italics about the Holy Trinity. Recall that this central mystery is also the chief stumblingblock in Christianity for many. It is also foolishness for many. But, here it is: it is the chief truth of orthodox Christianity, one that must be affirmed to be saved.

Let’s explore this a little more….Unless one has the gift of faith, one cannot affirm the Trinity. Recall that every single cult, Christian or not, does not affirm it. They do not because they cannot. This is a mystery, and one only can affirm it with the help of the Holy Ghost, in the same way that one cannot say, “Jesus is Lord” without the Holy Ghost.

Here’s the big point, beloved. The Athanasian creed says that one must believe in the Trinity to be saved. Why? Because one must believe in the right nature of God to be saved. What is that nature? Without getting caught up in a tautology, it is the nature of God as revealed in Scripture: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

We Christians must never get caught up in the erroneous concept that everyone can believe what he or she wants, and yet be saved. Consider this: just because we believe something does not bind God to it, or change His Holy Will. Yet, there are an alarmingly growing number of people who adopt this semi-Universalist view. That is, they believe that since they are basically “good” people, God wouldn’t dare send them to Hades, or eternal death, or whatever. Yet, the Athanasian Creed states “He therefore that will be saved must thus think of theTrinity.” We can reject that thought, or we can seek some other way, but it does not change who or what God is. It does not change the fact that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It doesn’t change the fact that no one comes to the Father except by Him.

Sounds terribly absolutist, doesn’t it? Surely there must be a softer, more individualistic, more humanistic way to salvation. Surely, like Islam, we can earn our salvation through good works and following the precepts of the Koran. Maybe, like the Hindu, we can re-cycle our time on earth enough times until we get it right. Maybe like the Medieval Church, we can burn away our sins for a thousand years in Purgatory, then enter the delights of Heaven…Surely there must be a way where this Trinity business is nice, but not absolutely necessary to salvation. Surely there must be a way whereby all men can be saved, without all this theology.

Well, no…. onsider John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This doesn’t leave much “wiggle room.” So, to be terribly dogmatic, one must accept Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior, thereby accepting His gracious gift of salvation and eternal life, or not. If one chooses not, then that choice has consequences. At the Last Day, when we all stand before the Throne of Judgment, our choice will be known. Then, we will truly understand the words of Christ from Matthew 22:14 ¹⁴”For many are called, but few are chosen.”

All mankind ais called by Jesus’ universal call of grace from the Cross, but not all blessed with the gift of faith, for some mysterious reason. On that fateful day, those making other professions will be judged accordingly. Then, the separation will occur.

Thus, let us all praise and bless God for all of His benefits to us, not the least of which is this precious gift of faith. We in this room can affirm the Trinity, even though we don’t understand it.... We can affirm the Lordship of Jesus Christ, although we certainly can’t understand His makeup as perfect God and perfect Man. Nor do we understand the enormity of His sacrifice for us. Yet, we believe and bow our heads in love, reverence, and worship.

This gift doesn’t come of us, but from the Holy Ghost. Only he can visit us and grant us the ability to believe that Jesus Chris is the only-begotten Son of the Father. Only the Holy Ghost can grant us the ability to believe that God the Father loves us so much that He gave His only Son for our redemption. Only the Holy Ghost is our constant companion to lead, instruct, comfort, and strengthen us. When we believe these things, we affirm the Trinity, and when we affirm the Trinity, we affirm our salvation.

Thus, we ask you, do we have cause for celebration today? Do we have a reason to give thanks to God with kindled spirits and enkindled hearts? Do we say to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, “we thank thee, we praise thee, and we gloryify Thee?” Yes, yes and yes….

It’s important that we do this. It’s important that we believe correctly, and that we know what we believe. Trust me, the enemies of Christianity certainly do. That is, whatever creed they hold, they really, really believe it, even to the point of death and destruction.

The blessed new is that we, beloved, are not of such ilk. We don’t trust in bombs, or terrorism, or fear to hold believers. We don’t threaten converts with death if they seek to leave the cult. Instead, we trust in the ever-flowing love of God as we know Him: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

This is the reality is which we trust. This is the reality in which we believe. This is the reality which will secure our eternal blessedness, forever and ever, world without end. Amen.

“Comfort ye my people…”

The Rev’d Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul's Anglican Church

Easter II

April 30, 2017

Isaiah 40:1-2: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.”

Comfort. What a wonderful word. What a warm, soft, beautiful word in all that it conveys. I picture a snowy day in Illinois with a warm fire, a soft blanket and a cup of delicious coffee at hand. Here in Texas, I picture comfort as a nice cool bedroom at night, with the air conditioning going when it is hot and sultry outside.

Yet, comfort may be an unappreciated word in our all-too-comfortable society. We really don’t tolerate discomfort very well, which is both a glory of our modern society as well as its curse. Perhaps we are too comfortable. Most modern Americans will tolerate nothing else. Let me also issue a disclaimer here. The very fact that we Americans have such manifold comfort available to us is a great blessing from Almighty God; one for which we should be very thankful. At the same time, we should keep in mind and pray for those who live without daily comfort.

In today's O.T. Reading, Isaiah, the great prophet of the coming Messiah, speaks to the people of Israel. This was the Northern Kingdom, who after many years of repeated warnings had been conquered by the Assyrians and carried away captive. Some commentators tell us that this particular passage occurs during the exile in Babylon.¹ In their misery, Isaiah speaks “comfort” to them, telling them that they have received double recompense at the Lord’s Hand for all their sins.

Recall that the majority of Isaiah’s ministry dealt with the apostasy of Israel. Consider these lines from the very first verses of his prophecy, Isaiah 1:3-4: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. ⁴Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

In verse after verse, Isaiah rightly complains of the idol worship, the lax morals, and the corrupt lifestyle of the Israelites. When God saw there was no repentance, judgment occurred in the form of foreign invasion and enslavement. Their punishment was so severe that even Isaiah comments that they received “double” punishment for their sins. Wesley terms it as this: “Double — Not twice as much as her sins deserved, but abundantly enough to answer God's design in this chastisement, which was to humble and reform them, and to warn others by their example.”²

Yet now, according to the prophecy, Israel was to receive comfort from her vexations and punishments. She was to be assured that her “warfare”or tribulation in the world, was completed and that her iniquity was forgiven. The Hebrew word “ratsah” actually means to be favorably disposed towards or kindly towards one. If one could perceive God’s “mood” so to speak, it may be one of kindliness or good favor. Even though God’s wrath had been kindled towards His People, their punishment had expiated this.

How then, does God visit retribution on His People, seeing that He Himself is beyond emotion and thus beyond the feelings of anger, jealousy, and rage? How can we even say, “the Wrath of God?” While that topic is beyond the scope of this brief address, suffice it to say that God’s absolute Holiness and absolute justice demand that some recompense must occur to atone for sins against Him. Yet, being the font of eternal love, God Himself paid the price for these offenses in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is exactly what Isaiah speaks about when he tells us that a Voice is crying:”The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:”³ This voice is God, telling us to prepare the way for His Son. In language used later by John the Baptizer, it is a voice crying in the wilderness.

Typical with Isaiah is his ability to project his prophetic voice both near and far. By that, we mean that he speaks both to the near-term easing of Israel’s distress, which would eventually happen, and to the long-term prophecy of the coming Christ. We see both in this passage as the people receive a comfortable word in the present, while at the same time Isaiah speaks prophetically of the Christ to come. Although the presence of man fades, for we are but grass, the word of God lasts forever.

Thus, we clamber into the mountains and proclaim to the world, “Behold your God!” He will come with a strong hand and a strong arm to do his work.

What work will this be? It is pastoral, natural and beautiful: He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”⁴

At once we are propelled into the Gospel era as St. John relates how Christ said, ¹¹ I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”⁵ In fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, Christ proclaims Himself to be what he is, the Bishop and Captain of our souls.

Note what the Voice was crying in the wilderness: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the sheep. Not as a hired worker, who sees the danger and flees, but rather as a courageous shepherd who knows his sheep and is known by them. Interestingly, although sheep are easily led, they do not follow just anybody. They know their shepherd’s voice and follow only him. Conversely, the shepherd knows his sheep and does everything he can to protect them, up to and including giving his own life to protect them.

Thus, to quote the old gospel hymn, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!”⁶ What a Friend indeed.

There is only One who will save you from an uncertain eternal afterlife: Jesus. There is only One who saves your soul from the piercing, totally accurate justice of God and replaces it with mercy: Jesus. There is only one Good Shepherd who is able to fill your soul with the holy love and grace it so desperately wants: Jesus.

Jesus reaffirms his relationship with God the Father as He tells us that in the way that His sheep know Him, He is known of the Father. This is a special relationship made perfect by perfect love in the community of the Holy Trinity.

In one last affirmation of hope and unity, Christ tells us that he has other sheep that must join his flock. Although not of this fold, they too must and will be brought along with Christ. This is most glorious, for it foretells the wonderful day when all Christian divisions will cease “and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”⁷ With our limited human vision, we can’t see any way that the gaping divisions in the Church can be healed. Denominations tend to divide; once divided, they tend to keep dividing. Some of the reasons for our divisions are valid, others not so much. Yet, in the mystery of God’s perfect vision, there will occur a day when all Christians will worship the Holy Trinity in one church. What a glorious day that will be! Imagine a church where unity of vision and unity of purpose is the focus, rather than the disagreements that divide us. It will be a miracle indeed. It will be one that only the Good Shepherd can bring about.

One last question remains to be asked: are you under the care of the Good Shepherd?

Have you entrusted your life, both here and forever, into the Hands of the One who can see it safely to eternal pasture? If there is any area of your soul where some “hold back” occurs, or where you are less than enthusiastic about the Good Shepherd’s directions? If so, let it go. Let it go and experience both the freedom from self and the wonderful peace of God.

After all, this is what Good Shepherd Sunday is all about. It is about giving your soul what it so desperately needs, the sacred pasture of Christ.

Amen.

1 http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/badv2m.shtml

2 http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=23&c=40&com=wes

3 Isaiah 40:3-4

4 Op. cit. 40:11

5 John 10:11

6 Hymn #422, The Hymnal, 1940

7 Op.cit. 10:16