An Apparent Contradiction

 

1^st Sunday after Trinity 2021

St. Paul’s Anglican, Church

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

June 6, 2021

 

We bid you God’s Grace today on this, the First Sunday after Trinity.  As we enter this restful season of the Church, I pray that all of us may experience great spiritual rest, but also significant spiritual growth. May our individual faith grow as green as the flourishing summer grass!

 

Trinity 1 provides us with a seemingly apparent contradiction.  How, you may ask? It appears to us in the juxtaposition of the wonderful, warm treatise by St. John versus the rather stern reminder of eternal judgment as told in today’s Gospel from St. Luke.

 

First, we are told about the wonders of God’s love for us. St. John tells us, “..For love is of God.” Also, he that loves God should love his brother also; and we are told of God’s overwhelming love for us, that, while we didn’t love God, He loved us and sent his only Son to “be a propitiation for our sins.” Again, as restated by St. John, God loved us so much that Jesus was made the mediator and saviour for the whole world.

 

Perhaps the crowning statement of the passage is that by living in God’s love, we may have “boldness” in the day of judgment! We are not to fear, because fear has a tormenting quality to it. Perfect love casts out fear. He who fears is not made perfect in love. Isn’t this wonderful?  We have love; we have no fear of what is to come, for we trust in Jesus for our salvation. It is warm and lovely.

 

Then, we have the parable, told by Christ Himself, about Lazarus and the rich man. It is, no doubt familiar to all of us. Here is the rich man, faring “sumptuously” every day, clothed in beautiful clothes and experiencing all the creature comforts. He has it made in every respect, it seems. 

Contrast that with Lazarus, full of sores, who “is laid” at his gate, starving, barely alive.  Note the language here.  Lazarus did not sit at the rich man’s gate, nor did he actively beg.  Someone laid him there, presumably in hopes that he might receive care. He desired to be fed with the “crumbs” which fell from the rich man’s table.  These were actually pieces of bread that the rich used to wipe their hands and discard, in lieu of napkins.  How precious that bread would have been to a starving man!

 

The story continues with the rich man’s subsequent death and also that of Lazarus, who evidently received no care or help. Both die; yet their destinations vary greatly.  The rich man looks up in Hell; the beggar looks down from Abraham’s bosom, which was thought to be some sort of paradisial state.  He is in bliss, the rich man in hellish torment.

 

Yet, is there repentance in the rich man, now damned?  It seems not, for he begs Father Abraham to “send Lazarus” to bring him comfort, a little water to cool his tongue. Even in damnation and hellfire, the man thinks he has pre-eminence over Lazarus.  Send Lazarus? How presumptuous this is!  Abraham reminds him that his state is just, for as he was comforted in life, Lazarus was denied good things; now he, the rich man, is tormented and Lazarus comforted. Abraham also reminds the condemned that it is impossible to cross from paradise to hell, or hell to paradise.  This being the case, the rich man, either in a state of extreme hubris or utter desperation, begs that Lazarus return to life on earth to warn his brothers of their fiery fate ahead.  This also is denied because they have the testimony of Moses and the prophets. One last protest comes from the despairing rich man, that one coming back from the dead would cause repentance.  This too Abraham denies, saying if they will not heed Moses and the prophets, neither will they repent if one returned from the dead.

 

This is a stark, tough story.  It tells us several things: there is judgment; there is consequence for our deeds; this consequence is eternal and non-reversible. All of these can be gleaned rather easily from the parable.  What is not told us is why the rich man was damned.

Was it because he was rich? Not necessarily. It is possible to be rich and virtuous, although it is difficult and perhaps rare.

 

We must return to St. John for the answer: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God and every that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” Are we on to something?  At the end of the passage, we have the answer: “That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

 

Consider the rich man in this light.  Did he love God?  Did he love his brother? The answer is obvious…no, all he loved was himself.  He did not love God.  He did not love his neighbor as himself.  He literally rode past or rode over a pitiful member of the human race whom he could have helped, maybe even saved.  This complete lack of love, this unwillingness to let God’s love in so that he could send it back out, was the reason for his damnation. His complete absorption with self to the exclusion of everything else, especially the abundant love of God, was the reason for his undoing.

 

Love must be dynamic.  It cannot be a passive force in our lives, merely filling us with a warm feeling of affection.  Unlike the rich man, if we claim to love God, we must love our brother also.

 

How difficult this is today!  Hateful ideologies abound, which pit race against race and class against class, all with the aim of division. Love is preached, without acknowledgement of the source of love. Law is viewed as paramount, while grace and faith are ignored as the underpinning of that law. No appeal to the Almighty is made to solve our woes, because to do so would undermine our arrogance that man is the measure of all things.  Real love is absent, replaced by victimhood and the call for vengeance.  Everyone is offended by something.  There is little charity among us.

 

Yet, all is not lost. St. John told us so: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”  True life is possible, when we accept the magnificent love of God into ourselves and show it forth by our love of others.

 

St John and St. Luke are not at variance with each other.  Rather, the theme is the same in both: let us love God with all of our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind; and let us love our neighbor as ourself.  Truly, on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. AMEN.

 

1 John 4:21 - 5:1  ^“And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” 

 

 

 

Spirit and Doctrine

Trinity Sunday, 2021

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

May 30, 2021

 

Consider two words today: spirit and doctrine. Why? Today we celebrate one of the key mysteries of the orthodox Christian faith, the Trinity.  Today we contemplate the makeup of the eternal Godhead itself.  It is no accident that we celebrate the coming of the Holy Ghost first, and then contemplate the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  Does not the Holy Ghost lead us into greater knowledge of God, both through the Holy Scriptures and through our prayerful interaction with Him? Indeed.

 

The Trinity is one of the core beliefs of orthodox Christians, as we affirm both the trinity in unity (three Persons, one God) and the unity in trinity (One God in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.) One of the oldest beliefs in Christendom, it was developed and agreed to by the Council of Nicaea in a.d. 325, during a Council of the whole undivided Church. It is central to a Christian’s view of God and it is a key indicator of a Christian’s “right thinking” about God.  On the other hand, if a person will not or cannot affirm the Trinity, they have defective Christology.  Without the Trinity, they may believe something, but it is not orthodox Christianity.  During our adult class on religious cults, we learned that every major cult always denies or fails to affirm the Trinity. That is because those groups have a problem with Christ’s divinity, or his humanity, or his equality with the Father, or something. Virtually every heresy and error “boils down” to a heretical view of Christ in some way or another. 

 

Those who are not in the historic church or who have abandoned the historic creeds tend to be especially vulnerable to Satanic lies. It is interesting to note that after the Nicene Creed came into common usage in the 4^th century A.D., the spread of Arianism halted in its advance across the Christian world. While Arianism had several different “flavors”, it is basically the heresy that Christ is a created being and thus not equal to God the Father as regarding his divinity.  In short, according to the Arians, He was born, not eternally begotten. The cry of the early Arians was, “There was a time when Christ was not.”

 

Was the Creed of Nicaea important? Indeed. It affirmed that Christians believe in One God, not three Gods, and that we believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, not three Lords. We affirm that Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, not born. Christ was begotten of His Father before all worlds, thus destroying the rallying cry of the Arians.  Furthermore, we affirm that Christ is begotten of the Father.  He is not made or created, and He is indeed “of one substance with the Father,” in Greek, homousious.  Christ is God of God, Light of Light, truly God of truly God.  That is, Christ in his divinity is made of the same “stuff”, if you will, as the Father.  Sometimes we just rattle these words off our tongues without really considering what they mean.

 

The Creed goes on to affirm the other nature of Christ, that of his humanity, which he received from his human mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Thus, the other half of the miracle is that Christ, the second member of the Trinity, took our nature upon Himself to live and to die among us.  Next, the Nicene Creed affirms the divinity of the Holy Ghost, who is the Lord, the Giver of life.  This is Him whom we worship and glorify with God the Father and God the Son together.  Thus, in the Creed, we have a succinct statement of the Trinity in about one or two paragraphs.

 

The reason I mention all this about the Trinity is that it is the first lesson we encounter in this great season of the Church. Although we cannot truly understand it until we arrive in Heaven, it is critical to we Christians that we have the best understanding of the Holy Trinity that we can. 

 

This principle of spiritual understanding occurs very clearly in the Gospel for today from John 3.  Here is Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and, as the KJV terms it, “a ruler of the Jews” coming to Jesus by night to receive instruction.  We know that he was afraid to associate openly with Jesus during the daylight hours, for fear of jeopardizing his position in the community.  While it is easy to criticize him and the other Pharisees in general, I believe that we should be cautious here.  We know that there were many Pharisees who believed on Jesus; several of whom tried to save him from crucifixion.  In the mystery and majesty of God’s Mind, all of these played a role somehow in our salvation, positively or negatively.

 

There is an interesting opening to the passage, namely when Nicodemus attempts to use flattery with Jesus, saying to Him, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”

 

Jesus will have none of it. He short circuits Nicodemus by telling him that unless a man be born again, he will not see the Kingdom of God.  As one might expect, this elicits a degree of scorn from the Pharisee, who uses a question to stop or change discussion.  He says,”How can a man be born again when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  Here is where Christ’s patience as a teacher is evident, for he ignores Nicodemus’ almost flippant answer to give us one of the great Christian truths: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

 

What does this mean? Simply, it means that to enjoy eternal life, we must be born anew, as spiritual creatures of God and members of His Household.  This begins at baptism. Then, according to a modern translation: ”The Spirit breathes where He desires, and you hear His voice, but you do not know from where He comes, and where He goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” There is a mysterious quality to the conversion process, as well as the way God speaks to us in the still, quiet chambers of our souls.

 

Once again, Nicodemus is incredulous.  He says, “How can these things be?” In a gentle reproof, Christ answers him and says, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” In other words, “You call yourself a spiritual master and you don’t know this?”  Christ continues, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”  Our Lord now draws the conclusion to his lesson by telling Nicodemus about God’s ultimate revelation to mankind, Himself. From our lesson written in John 3:13-15: “And no one has ascended up to Heaven except He who came down from Heaven, the Son of Man who is in Heaven. But even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 

If we grasped only the two major facts communicated on this day, first, that God is One in Three and Three in One; and second, that “even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”, we would be spiritual light-years ahead of those poor souls  who have not heard the Gospel, or who have chosen to reject it.

 

Thank God, we have not chosen to reject it.  Thank God that He, in His all-merciful and all-powerful Grace has chosen to call us into His Kingdom. 

It is that calling and that growth in God’s Love that we celebrate today on Trinity Sunday.  Now, beloved, as we seek to be a permanent presence in this town, let us invite others to revel in this love as well.

 

This Trinity season, let us all work, pray and hope for our spiritual development, our green growth that will be transformed into a harvest of spiritual fruit.  We have the tools at hand: the Holy Scriptures, the Holy Sacraments, our Church and each other. 

 

Pray, dearly beloved, that this Trinity season is both restful and fruitful for all of us.

 

John 3:7:  "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."

 

 

 

“…For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world .”

 

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

Easter I

April 11, 2021

 

1 John 5:4: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 

 

John the beloved Disciple begins our Epistle selection for the day with a strong statement of victory and achievement.  It is fitting that he should say so in this blessed season of Easter, for this is the time of Christ’s exultation over death, despair and perdition.  This is also our time of victory through Him.  In the big scheme of things, Good wins. Evil is defeated.

 

In bold and stirring words, John says we who believe in the Son of God can overcome the world.  In fact, in Christ, we the church through faith have overcome the world.

 

What? On the surface it seems unlikely when one surveys the relative powerlessness of many Christians around the world.  Consider all those who are persecuted for the faith. Although in this country, we are still free from persecution, in many places it is not so.  In China, in the Middle East, and in parts of Africa, persecution is real and active.  There are people, even today, who are suffering and dying for the faith of Christ. 

 

Thus, one might be tempted to look upon these martyrs and say, “Overcome the World?  Rather the world has overcome them…”  This would be the obvious conclusion and it would be patently wrong.

 

Consider this.  As the disciple is not above his master, nor is the servant above his lord, so are these blessed saints in relation to Christ.  As Jesus told those women who bewailed him on his way to Golgotha, “For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”[1]

In other words, if the World dared to strike the Head, what will happen to those that follow Him?  The World shall strike them, just as it did their Master.  They shall suffer persecution, deprivation, and even death.  As in the early Church, many will become as “offscouring of all things”.[2]  Yet, just as the World thought it had defeated Jesus by depriving Him of earthly life, it was totally wrong.  Christ overcame the hate of the World through Love. He asserted His Lordship over death and despair by rising from the dead.  Hate and evil were frustrated and defeated. Christ’s victory was complete.

 

As faithful disciples, those suffering for the faith, through faith, will be glorified like their Master.  They will experience the glorious overcoming of the world, just as Christ did. They may be cast down for a while, as was Christ, but their glory will forever outshine the malignancy of evil.  They will overcome the world through faith.

 

Yet, when we see the vicissitudes of the Church in the World, we ponder St. Paul’s words in First Cor. 1:26: (1 Corinthians 1:26): For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”

 

St. Paul was referring to the origins of the early Church. It grew, not from an endorsement from the rich and powerful, but rather despite indifference from them.  This changed into an active persecution of Christianity by the time of the Emperor Diocletian.   Again, how can it be that we Christians overcome the world, especially when we consider what our Lord Himself said in Luke 16:8: “for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”

 

John answers this internal inquiry we might have when he says, “⁵ And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?  In accepting this,  many Christians have “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”[3]  To use a well-worn but truthful phrase, although we are in the world, we should not be of it. In other words, we honor the Earth and our earthly existence as good and holy things, but they are not ultimate.  Earthly life should not hold complete sway over us.  We note its glitter and illusions, yet we are above them. 

 

The Apostle John reinforces our faith that Christ is the One that Overcame as he presents Christ’s “credentials.”[4] That is, there are witnesses to Christ’s existence, His glory and his Victory.

First, there is the Spirit of God, who bears witness to Christ constantly in our hearts, through our worship and reception of the Blessed Sacrament, and through our reading of the Word of God.  All this comes through grace by the Holy Spirit.  He is truth. 

 

Continuing, John tells us: “⁷ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”  Only in the Gospel and writings of John is Christ constantly referred to as “the Word”. The most familiar reference being in John 1:1, where we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  The Divine Son of God in the Glory that he had before the Worlds, certainly bears witness to his human nature, as well as his divine nature.  We know that the Father bore witness to His Son directly, first at his Baptism, when God the Father spoke: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  The Father spoke again at the Transfiguration, when Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, becoming glistening white.  He said, (Luke 9:35) “And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.”  The Holy Ghost also witnessed directly to Jesus at His Baptism, descending bodily upon Him in the form of a dove.

 

The importance of this little section of Scripture cannot be understated: it is proof text for the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.   Just as these three bear witness to Christ, they witness to us about the nature of God.  He is One God in Three Persons, not three Gods, three Fathers, three Sons or three Spirits. These three Persons bear witness to Christ.

 

John echoes this, as he says, “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one”. 

Thus, we have a wonderful parallel of witness, both in heaven and on earth to Christ.  As many Church fathers have taught us, and even modern writers like C.S. Lewis, things on earth are a faint reflection of things in heaven.

 

The witness of men is important, but the witness of God is greater.  When we see the Scriptures through new, spiritual eyes and see the overwhelming evidence for the work and victory of Jesus Christ, we receive the witness in ourselves. Thus, we have witness that Jesus Christ is Lord.  To God’s eternal glory, we can only confess that Jesus is Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we have the grace to confess this, it is well with us. We are beginning to overcome the world.

 

The record God has given us is quite simple: it is the sum of the Gospel: “And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

 

We give thanks to God that He has seen fit to call us into the fellowship of His Son… We give thanks that we, through Christ, have overcome the World. AMEN

 

⁷ “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

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[1] Luke 23:31

[2] I Cor. 4:13

[3] Heb 11:13

[4] Henry, Matthew, Commentary on 1^st John

Whom do we Know?

 

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

March 21, 2021

Passion Sunday

 

John 8:55: “Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.”

 

What does it mean to “know” Jesus? This is a great question, and one that should be asked in the season of Lent.  It is during this season that we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming Easter joys.  Is it not during Lent that one should ask, “What does it mean to know Jesus?”  Better yet, shouldn’t one ask, “Do I know Jesus?”

 

Before we answer that question, let me relate a story. Some time ago, I was having a conversation with several Christian ministers. I was introduced to the group by a great friend and Christian brother, a Pentecostal bishop of the Apostolic Orthodox Church. This particular bishop is working to meld the Pentecostal aspects of Christian worship with the liturgical side of worship, which we do here.  He said to the group, “This is Fr. Stephen Stults, a man who knows the Lord.”  At the time I confess I was flattered by the comment, but later, I was troubled. Did I really know the Lord?  What did that mean?

 

Those of you who have attended our last three Lenten suppers have heard something of this. We have discussed at length the difference between a transactional or relational basis of living with God. Being transactional means you attempt to make a deal with God. If He will do this, you will do this. We illustrated the tragic examples of self-flagellation in the Middle Ages, where people would shred their own flesh in exchange for a hoped-for deliverance from the Black Death.  This is transactional.  It is also flawed because it assumes some element of self-salvation.  It assumes that something you do will cause the Almighty to act in your favor.

This is not to know God.  It is merely trying to use him by making a deal.  It also may assume that God delights in our misery, which, according to Scripture, is contrary to God’s chief attribute, love. To our mind, the only possible way God would treasure your suffering is if it brings about true or greater repentance. Even in these cases, suffering usually springs from the consequences of our sins.  We sin, we suffer, and hopefully we repent.

 

This parallels the so-called “sin cycle” of the Old Testament.  Israel would sin grievously, often for an extended period of time, God would bring forth judgement upon them, and they would repent.  This cycle is repeated several times until the greatest judgement occurred in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the Temple (and Jerusalem with it). Israel ceased to be a nation, being under the yoke of various foreign powers until the re-constitution of the Jewish State of Israel.

 

For a bit of history and fulfillment of prophecy: On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day.[1] This process began in 1946, when Pres. Truman endorsed the relocation of 100,000 displaced persons to Palestine, then under British control.  Throughout 1947, the United Nations Special Commission on Palestine examined the Palestinian question and recommended the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 (also known as the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948 when the British mandate was scheduled to end.[2] The rest is history, as Israel grew and flourished again as a nation, despite facing immediate war from the surrounding Arab states. 

 

It has been noted that Pres. Truman was especially desirous to assist Israel.  Sincee he was a devout Southern Baptist, did he feel that re-establishing the state of Israel would perhaps usher in the Millennial era, culminating in the Second Coming of Christ? Could this be an example of transactional thinking?

 

Knowing God involves something else.  It means that you have a relationship with Jesus. It means that you appreciate his Divine Character and love Him for it. It means that you trust in Him for salvation, and that you recognize that you are saved by grace through faith, and not by your striving.

 

It also means that this relationship is maintained through constant communication with God in the form of prayer: both formal and informal; as well as worship and service in His Church.  The more we talk with God, the closer we become, and the more we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind.

 

Our relationship with God  - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, should be dynamic, never static.  Since God is all about life, so shall our relationship be. The Prayer Book says, “…that, as we grow in age we may grow in grace….”.

 

Today’s Gospel gives examples of transactional vs. relational thinking. Jesus has just been accused of being a despised Samaritan by the Jews. To make the insult worse, they accuse Him of being possessed as well! From the New American Standard version, we read: (John 8:48): “The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Now, they have accused Christ of not only being an enemy to the Jewish nation and to their religion (a Samaritan), but also being demon-possessed![i]

 

Christ’s reply is meek and gentle.[ii] (John 8:49:  “Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.” This is a reply that most of us could not make. Our usual response to such a charge is to lash out with anger or resentment.

We know from the O.T. sacrificial system, that transactional relationships were the norm.  One would sin and one would present sacrifice for purposes of atonement. There was a specific type of sacrifice called the “sin sacrifice.” The whole of Jewish life was regulated by the Law, itself defined by transactions: one follows the Law, one is blessed; one breaks the law, one suffers judgement.  All in all, it was plainly stated: the pious Jew followed the Law; the impious did not. Blessings and curses would follow each path.

The Scribes and Pharisees were the guardians of the Law.  The knew it, they studied it, and they interpreted it to the common Jew. They were, without a doubt, the masters of the transactional practice of religion.

Their accusation of Christ shows this plainly. Implicit in the words is a transactional cause-and-effect situation: “Say we not well that thou art of Samaritan (inferior to the Jew with inferior Samaritan Scriptures and practice), and thou hast a devil? (the natural curse from living outside the Jewish Law).  This is how they related to God.  It was mechanistic and perhaps somewhat crass.  As time progressed, many pious Jews thought God owed them a blessing due to their flawless keeping of the Law! They knew the Law, but they did know God.

Always, in all situations, Jesus was in constant relationship with His Father.

Only once in Christ’s life could it be argued that He was apart from His Father.  That, of course, was the dreadful isolation on the Cross. He took all the world’s sin into Himself and as St. Paul says, became sin for us. Sin is separation from God. This is what Jesus endured for us, so that sin will not separate us forever from God. For a time, His relationship with the Father was suspended.

Now, here comes the difficult question: whom do we honor? If we are like the majority of the human race, we seek to honor ourselves.  Our self esteem, our well-being, our advancement, are key to our attitude and behavior. “Take care of Number One”, as the old saying goes.

Realistically, this is how people survive, and it may not be necessarily bad.  It can lead to great improvement in our own lives and those around us.  After all, what does an entrepreneur do but think of something that people want, then strive to deliver that good or service?  In so doing, he helps himself and society.

The key is what is the source of this inspiration?  If it is human will, sublimated in the Will of God, nothing but good can occur.   All will benefit, a “win-win-win” will happen.

In the case of the parables’ Pharisees, there is something else at work.  Their approach to Jesus is not born out of pure motives, but those of pride and fear.  How dare this rude rabbi presume to teach the people!  How dare He heal the sick! Just who does he think he is?

Exactly.  Rather than see Jesus as the long-expected Messiah, they react to protect themselves and their position. They seek to honor themselves. Understandably, it would be shocking to see and hear the things Jesus said and did, especially if one was charged with keeping the religious life of Israel.   After all, it was their job to teach the people from the Law of Moses. Their reaction is natural, yes, but it lacked one thing: faith. Their own pride and need for prestige did not allow them to see Christ as Messiah. All they saw was a presumptuous prophet saying outrageous things.

Beloved, let us examine this in terms of our Lenten journey.  How much do we seek to honor God, rather than ourselves?  How much, or how often, do we ask that His Will be done in our lives?  Has our Lenten experience been positive in this regard?

Most likely, we will not be hung on a cross, like Christ.  Most likely, we will not be scourged and mocked like Him.  Most definitely, we will not be asked to take the World’s sin upon us. Yet, when we give our will to God, all of us are fearful that God will ask something of us. We are afraid that He will ask us to do something we do not want to do. We may be afraid that bad things will happen, or that we will have to suffer for Christ.

Well, beloved in Christ, here’s the kicker: all of us will suffer in this life, whether we are in God’s Will, or not.  Jesus tells us that it rains on the just and the unjust.[iii]  Yet, there is a difference: the Christian prays for God’s will and the grace to meet whatever challenges happen to him.  The ungodly, or natural man suffers, and says “Why?” Whereas the Christian knows all things are pre-ordained in some wonderful and mysterious way, the man who knows not God is bewildered and bitter. Even in the Christian’s sufferings, there is a blessedness that the pagan will never know.

When we honor God, we are honoring ourselves, because we are in tune with what our Creator has willed for us. It is seldom easy, but it is the right path for us. Through God’s grace, we will realize, in time, that God’s Will is the only way to true peace and joy.

We cannot be more honored than that.     AMEN

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[1] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel

[2] Ibid

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[i] Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/john/8-48.htm

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Matt. 5:45

My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord

 

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

Easter Sunday, 2021

V.  Alleluia!  The Lord is risen!

R.  The Lord is risen indeed, alleluia!

 

“O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth from generation to generation.” (From the Jubilate Deo in the service of Daily Morning Prayer.)

 

Today is the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Praise God! It is the feast of feasts for us.  We honor Christ’s victory over death, sin and the grave.  Today we celebrate victory over Man’s ancient foe, Death.  Today, we celebrate our status as sons and daughters of the Most High God. As Christ is victor over the grave, so through Him we are victorious over uncertainty and doubt. Our eternal destination is made sure. Today, we affirm one fundamental truth, from 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.”

 

We affirm confidently that we share in Christ’s resurrection. We proclaim to the world, “I am a Christian.  I am free from the fear of death.  I am filled with the love of God.  I am an heir of salvation and eternal life.” 

 

Consider the following texts from the Word of God that clearly show us this truth:

^KJG John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in

me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

 

^KJG John 14:2 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, ¹, I would have told you. I go to ² prepare a place for you.”

 

^KJG John 3:16 ^{1 “}For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth ² in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 

^KJG Matthew 20:28  “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

 

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist. It is the second Dominical Sacrament, created by Christ himself.  The other is Holy Baptism. In this most blessed Sacrament, we remember our Lord’s death and are fed sacramentally with Him each time we participate in the Eucharist.  On Good Friday, Our Lord offered himself as the “one, perfect and sufficient sacrifice” for us.  On Holy Saturday, our Lord’s body rested in the sepulcher.  Today, Easter Sunday, our Lord Christ rose from the dead and opened unto us the gates of larger life.

 

St. Paul tells us that we who have been baptized into his death also share in His resurrection.  As Jesus told his disciples on Maundy Thurday: ( John 16:20): “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” Today is the day that we have joy like no other, for we know that our Lord liveth and maketh intercession for us.

 

Christ’s resurrection is foreshadowed in the O.T. In the glorious words of Job, chapter 19: “²⁵ For I know that my ¹ redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ²⁶ And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet ¹ in my flesh shall I see God.”  In the notes to the Geneva Bible, it states: “In this Job declares plainly that he had a full hope, that both the soul and body would enjoy the presence of God in the last resurrection.”

 

We Christians know this to be true.  As Christ is, so shall we be. Christ, coming to take our manhood upon Him, tasted death for every man. We will not experience the chilling isolation He experienced on the Cross.  Christ, our Captain of salvation, did this for us. This is what we celebrate today.

 

Our Gospel tells us early in the morning, Mary Magdalene came to the sepulcher, perhaps to mourn for Christ, or as other Gospel accounts say, to anoint His body. Expecting to find the tomb sealed, she finds it open.  Immediately, she thought that Jesus had been removed and ran to tell the other disciples.

 

Peter and “the other disciple”, John, run to the tomb. John comes to the tomb first, sees the linen grave wrappings, but does not go in.  He hesitates.  When Peter arrives, bold, strong, brash Peter, he rushes into the tomb.  He sees the clothes and amazingly, the head napkin, neatly wrapped and lying by itself.  This is not a crime scene.  No grave robber stole the body.  It is a purposeful, designed situation where our Lord gloriously rose from the dead, neatly wrapped the cloth that was around His head, and went out.

 

Beloved in Christ, what is Easter to you?  Do you boldly believe in the power of Christ’s Resurrection?  Some did not.  St. Paul in 1 Cor. 15, speaks of those who doubted the resurrection: “¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen." ¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty." ¹⁵ Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up -- if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁷ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! ¹⁸ Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”  

 

We do not doubt.  We proclaim this message: Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again.  The glorious Gospel continues:  we are no longer slaves to sin and death. Meaninglessness and oblivion are not in our future.

 

The promise of Easter isn’t only about the life hereafter, although this is paramount. Yet, be that as it may, if that were all, many people, even believers, might have some difficulty committing to the Christian Life.  No, our new life in Christ means a difference, a distinction, now, here on Earth. 

 

This is where the difference lies.  Christians genuinely have hope and power to live a blessed, empowered life in the Holy Trinity.  Only in Christ can we experience joy in our life despite our circumstances. Only in Christ can we have the “peace that passeth understanding”, an “extra something” that sets us apart from the World.  It is that grace that helps us live each day in joy, not despair; love, not hate; and a sense of completeness as opposed to emptiness.  It is truly marvelous and truly mysterious

 

Consider what St. Paul said about false hope in Christ; he said: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”  If Christ was not true, our belief would not be true. We would have a dire situation to deal with. If Christ died and stayed in the grave, we would have to agree. We would be he most pitiful of people.

 

 It is not so, however.  In the most glorious of affirmations, the Apostle continues: “²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

 

This is the truth of Easter.  This is what we celebrate today.  This is our faith, our hope, and our joy. Thanks be to God!

 

^{John 20:8} “Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed.”