The Rt. Rev'd Stephen C. Scarlett

Third Sunday in Lent – Sermon

March 26, 2011

When I first started observing the Lenten fast and teaching others to do the same, I encountered anobjection. People would say, “I think it is more important to do something positive than it is to fast.” Bodily negation was eschewed in favor of doing good. This objection is a sort of half truth. It is, in fact, quitenecessary to disturb our comfortable patterns of behavior by self-denial in order to make room for positivechange. Nonetheless, it is half true. We must, indeed, aim at positive change. If we want to put to deathwrongly ordered desire by fasting and confession, we must consider what will take root in its place–lestsin confessed be replaced by more sin. For nature abhors a vacuum.

This is the essential point being made by the gospel (Luke 11:14-28). The witnesses to the exorcismfocused on the departure of the evil spirit. Jesus pointed out that the departed spirit leaves a void that maywell be filled by a greater evil–unless it is filled by good. The essential transaction of the Christian life is thatwe remove the evil by self-denial and confession and fill the resulting empty space with Christ in the formof what we call the virtues. Thus, 2 Peter exhorts us to be diligent to,

Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-controlperseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindnesslove. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in theknowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even toblindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (2 Peter 1:5-9 NKJ).

When we pray that the Lenten fast will be fruitful, we mean, precisely, that various virtues, Christ-likequality and “fruits of the Spirit” will be produced in us. We uproot weeds and break up the soil throughfasting in order to make room for the growth of the good plant.

Sin is a failure to love. We confess that we have failed to love so that we might learn to love more. Let’sconsider an example. This week’s epistle mentions fornication again. Our culture typically thinks of sex interms of personal pleasure. Thus, people think that to possess the virtue of chastity means to deny oneselfpleasure, with no particularly positive thing to be gained for it. But fornication is wrong because it is a failureto love. It is to use another for one’s own ends, without regard for what is good for the other. To be chasteis to love. It is to respect the image of God in another and control one’s desires so as to love and seek thegood of the other person.

Our culture tends to see the moral teachings of the Bible as rules designed to thwart human fulfillmentbecause the devil has done a good job of indoctrinating our culture. The truth is that virtue and obedienceare the pathway to a more fulfilling life. The law of God is meant to order our lives in the same way that theword of God orders the universe. Psalm 19 says,

The law of the LORD is an undefiled law, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, andgiveth wisdom unto the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, and rejoice the heart; thecommandment of the LORD is pure, and giveth light unto the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, and endureth for ever; the judgments of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to bedesired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.Moreover, by them is thy servant taught; and in keeping of them there is great reward. (Psalm19:7-11 BCP 363).

As we cultivate virtues that lead us to habitually obey God’s law–principally, the law of love–the result isan increased sense of order, beauty and peace. Conversely, when our lives are governed by our fallennature, the result is disorder, turmoil, ugliness, sadness and hatred. Consider again this issue of sexualmorality. What if, for the last sixty years, everyone in our culture had followed God’s law calling forabstinence outside of marriage and faithfulness within it? Think of the social ills, cultural chaos and personalpain that would have been eliminated simply by doing what God says to do. There would be no epidemicof fatherlessness and no “welfare state.” There would be a lot less heartache, pain and misery.

Think of your own life for a minute. Would you be better off right now if you had always obeyed God’slaw and done God’s will? Is it not true that our own current discontent results from our lack of faith, hopeand love, or our lack of self-control, patience, kindness, fortitude or some other virtue? This is why, as weconsider how to make a good confession during Lent, we must also consider what the positive change wedesire looks like. We must name our sin, but we must also name the desired virtue. We must confess andremove the evil, but we must also begin to plant and practice the good.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Sin not replaced with holiness will be replaced with another, more insidious sin.This is one reason religious people can become self-righteous. Certain obvious sins of the flesh can beremoved so that we look outwardly good. However, in their place, more serious and subtle spiritual sinscan take root, such as pride, envy, covetousness, anger.

Once we name the virtue that stands opposite of our sin, we must ask God to give it to us. We cannotbecome virtuous by our own efforts any more than we can earn forgiveness by our works. But we canpray, “Lord, increase in me the virtues of faith, hope and love” (cf. Collect for Trinity 14, BCP 209). We can ask God to give us humility, generosity, contentment, self-control and patience.” Then we can beginto practice these things. We can look for opportunities to give where we have been selfish, to be patientwhere we have been impatient, to be humble where our actions and attitudes have been infected by pride,to be self-controlled where we have allowed ourselves to be controlled by our desires.

We experience the power of prayer in the pursuit of holiness. St. John writes, “This is the confidence thatwe have toward [God] that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that hehears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:15).Sometimes we do not know if what we pray for is God’s will. However, we know for sure that it is God’swill that we grow in faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13) and in perseverance, kindness, faithfulness,self-control and peace (Galatians 5:22). Thus, as we learn during Lent to make a good confession of sin,let us also learn to pray for the virtues that we will begin to practice instead. As Jesus said, “Ask and yeshall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

Download this sermon.

Second Sunday in Lent – Sermon

March 19, 2011

The lessons for the Second Sunday in Lent focus both on the faith through which we come to Jesus and the holiness required of those who come to Jesus in faith.

In the first century, Jewish people who were religious didn’t like Gentiles. The Gentiles were not a part of God’s people. They were seen as the enemy because the Gentile Romans were a barrier to Jewish independence and Gentile idolatry was an offense to God. Thus, it is remarkable that Jesus, after a brief encounter in the gospel (Matthew 15:21f) not only accepted the Woman of Canaan, but also identified her as a woman of “mega-faith.” To be sure, Jesus had already accepted and praised the pious Gentile centurion (Matthew 8:5f.). But the woman of Canaan was not pious.

The woman’s daughter was demon possessed, or at least demon harassed. We are not told how she fell into this state, but those who end up demonized have been in places they should not be doing things they should not do. This woman’s daughter opened her life in some sort of “faith” to the forces that bound her. Now, the woman turned in faith to Israel’s Messiah.

The disciples didn’t hate this woman. They merely saw her as having no value–“send her away for she crieth after us.” She was, in their minds, already destined, by race, affliction and gender to fall on the wrong side of the great judgment. Three strikes and your out!

Because of her unacceptable condition, this woman is one of the clearest examples of justification by faith in the New Testament. She had no family background, religious works or attractive appearance by which she might attempt to curry favor with the Lord. She only had faith–great faith–and that was enough.

This is the overarching point of the liturgy. We approach God as those who have “sinned in thought, word and deed,” “not trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercy,” not worthy even“to gather up the crumbs rom under thy table.” It is possible for the beauty and poetry of the prayer book to betray us here just a bit. For it may be hard to fully embrace our unworthiness when we sound so good confessing it!

Nonetheless, the liturgy teaches us that our family pedigree, our fine reputation, our success in the world, our money and our good looks do not matter to God. The things the world says we must have or pursue do not advance us one step towards the kingdom. In fact, they may keep us from the kingdom, for they may become idols that take the place of God.

That is why we are most likely to hear the good news when our lives are shaken in some way. When our child is ill or we find ourselves in some sort of need; when a tsunami destroys a city or a nuclear plant begins to melt down; or during the second week of Lent when the fast, quite far from building spiritual strength, has begun to reveal to us just how weak we really are. Then we begin to realize, as the collect says, “that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves.” Then, like the Woman of Canaan, we begin to pray from the heart, “O Lord, thou son of David, have mercy on me!”

If you have every prayed to God in a state of affliction with any persistence, you understand the truth revealed in the gospel. God hears the prayers that spring from humble faith. “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). But then what? The epistle (1 Thessalonians 4:1f.) says, “God has not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness.” Like the Woman of Canaan, we come to Christ in an unclean state. However, God then calls us to be clean.

The central issue in the epistle is sex: “That ye should abstain from fornication.” Nothing has changed in two thousand years. The early church called people away from pagan promiscuity into a life of holiness. The modern church, when it speaks with the Holy Spirit, calls people away from the sexual license of our culture into a life of abstinence outside of marriage and faithfulness within it. This teaching wasn’t any more popular then than it is now.

It isn’t popular, but it is essential because the call to holiness is part and parcel of our healing and deliverance. It would have been strange for the Woman of Canaan to ask for exorcism and then bring her daughter back to the very same place where the demon first entered. It is strange for us to ask for forgiveness for things that we plan to keep on doing.

The real problem is human weakness. “We have no power of ourselves to help ourselves.” We get stuck in patterns of behavior that don’t fulfill us, but we can’t quite break free from them. We want to be forgiven because at some level we know they are wrong, but we aren’t strong enough to actually change. We have had sexual “freedom” in our culture now for over fifty years, and people are less fulfilled and contented sexually than ever before. Yet, sex is still presented as though it is the ultimate answer to the longings of the human heart. People want more, but settle for less because it is easier to give in to human nature that to fight for something higher and better.

It might help us if we understood that holiness is synonymous with freedom. To be holy is to be set apart from the world. Thus, it is also to be free from captivity to the world and its false promises. We are not really free if all we have is some sort of judicial pardon from the punishment for sin, but are still stuck doing all the things for which we asked God’s mercy in the first place.

In Lent, we seek not only to be forgiven for our sins by faith, we also seek to be freed from captivity to sinful patterns of behavior. This takes effort. The purpose of fasting is to challenge our desires so as to bring them under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you find yourself struggling with the fast, that is a good thing. It means you are fighting a real battle. You are denying yourself, claiming new freedom, and the world, the flesh and the devil don’t like it and are fighting back. They don’t want to lose their hold on you.

The point in fasting and prayer where we feel weak is the very point where Christ is able to fill the emptiness with himself. This is why we must persevere in the struggle for the forty days of Lent. We will stumble and fall from time to time, but if we are to make progress we must continue to get up and resume the battle. Some of our besetting sins are only overcome by a commitment to prayer and fasting over time (cf, Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29 KJV). Today’s gospel teaches us that if we persevere God will answer our prayer. He will give us both forgiveness and freedom.

Download this sermon.

First Sunday in Lent – Sermon

March 12, 2011

The devil or Satan is mentioned several times in Bible, but he only talks to people twice. He spoke to Eve, with Adam watching and listening (Genesis 3) and he spoke to Jesus in today’s gospel (Matthew 4:1f.). Satan is present at other times, but he is not visible to human beings. Part of the purpose of today’s gospel is to reveal the devil as the unseen enemy of God’s people.

The Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is meant to be read in the light of Israel’s forty year experience of testing (Deuteronomy 8:2). The temptations all match up. The “stone into bread” test relates to Israel’s dissatisfaction with the manna (Numbers 11:6, Deuteronomy 8:3). The temptation to worship the devil in exchange for all the kingdoms of the world relates to Israel’s idolatry with the golden calves (Exodus 32:8). The temptation to jump off the temple relates to the time when God brought water out of the rock, where it is said that Israel “put God to the test” (Exodus 17:7).

The three scripture verses Jesus quotes are the verses of the Old Testament where God rebuked Israel for her disobedience in these three specific episodes (Deuteronomy 6:13, 6:18 & 8:3). The point is that Jesus fulfills the vocation of Israel, succeeding in the very tests that Israel failed. The implication is that the devil was present in the Old Testament as the ultimate source of Israel’s temptations. This reveals that the true enemy of God’s people is the evil one. This is the enemy Jesus defeated.

One of the chief errors of God’s people is to misidentify the enemy. First century Israel thought her enemy was Rome. The Messiah was expected to come and defeat the Romans. This is why no one understood when Jesus chose the cross instead of the sword. The path of “obedience unto death” (Philippians 2:8) was a type of warfare aimed at destroying the kingdom of the evil one, but it had no immediate or obvious impact on the affliction of God people.

Jesus was aiming at a cosmic and eternal victory, not a temporal victory. To win that war he had to be faithful to God through a genuine human life. He had to endure opposition and injustice. He had to offer the sacrifice that would atone for sin and free us from captivity to the evil one (Hebrews 2:14-15). He had to lose the visible battle in order to win the spiritual war. Thus, at the very moment of apparent defeat, he uttered the words of ultimate triumph, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

Ephesians says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world” (6:12). This is a reflection on the gospel. The visible battles we face in the world are part of a larger war. Our ultimate victory will be determined, not by whether we achieve fame, success or fulfilment of our desires. Our ultimate victory will be determined by whether or not we remain faithful through the ever-present temptations and tests.

Every challenge in life has two dimensions. There is the visible dimension of eating, drinking, working and playing, and there is the spiritual dimension of how these activities impact our faith and faithfulness. There are visible enemies–people and circumstances. And there is the invisible enemy, who uses the visible things to discourage and anger us; to make us covetous and envious. The challenge is to fight the right battle, to discern the presence of the unseen enemy and act faithfully so as to conquer him.

The tests are made more challenging in our time because of the cultural implication that faith should be an aid to success. There is a sense among many that if I believe in Jesus and do all the right things, life should go well. Thus, for many, a setback or misfortune becomes an unbearable test of faith: “Why is God doing this to me?” Many conclude that since God did not lead them to victory in the visible battle, they will no longer believe in him. This triumph of doubt over faith is precisely the victory the devil is looking for. He is pleased when we win the visible battle at the cost of our faith. He is even more pleased when we win neither the visible battle nor pass the test of faith.

Jesus did all the right things, had perfect faith and got killed for it. We must reconcile ourselves to the truth that the call to be faithful will sometimes cost us things we want. There is a name for visible things that are more important to us than God. They are called idols–and we must continually renounce them. We must be ready always to give up any thing that leads us away from faith and obedience. “Whoever does not forsake all the he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

But there is also a paradox. The things we forsake, the things we offer in sacrifice to God, eventually come back to us in resurrected form. “Every one who has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matthew 19:29).

Jesus renounced the world, the flesh and the devil and surrendered his very life in obedience. However, he was raised from the dead and given a new, immortal body. God did rescue him and raise him. He was given all the kingdoms of the world (Revelation 11:15). He himself became the bread of life. Jesus said no to the demonic temptations because they were all lies. They promised a kind of fulfillment that they would not have delivered. The bread would have solved the problem of hunger only for a moment. The devil would not have given all of the kingdoms. There would have been fine print in the contract. The cheap trick would only have produced faith in cheap tricks.

The demonic voice offers us something that is desirable right now, but will not satisfy us in the long run. For this short term fix, the devil requires unfaithfulness or disobedience. Christ offers us resurrection, eternal life and the fulfillment, eventually, of every genuine human desire. He requires of us faith and obedience, which include a willingness to suffer some lack of fulfilment in the present moment. The devil is always in a hurry because he knows that his time is short (Revelation 12:12). Thus, the demonic voice tells us that we must have what we want now. God has, literally, an eternity to fulfill his promises to us. Thus, he is always telling us to be patient and faithful and wait for him.

The Lenten fast is a time to make sure we are seeing the real enemy and fighting the right battle. The disciplines aid us. Through prayer, we gain the wisdom and vision we need to perceive the devil’s schemes. We are given the grace we need to embrace our share of the cross. Through fasting, we learn to subdue the flesh. We learn not to live by bread alone. Through almsgiving, we renounce our idols so that out treasure and our hearts may be fully invested in the coming kingdom. Easter and resurrection will make it all worthwhile. As St. Paul wrote, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Download this sermon.

Quinquagesima

March 5, 2011

As we prepare for Lent and its intensified practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we would be remiss if we did not address the historical tension between the practice of spiritual disciplines and the truth that salvation is a gift that does not depend upon what we do.

This tension has surfaced in two periods of history. First, the New Testament doctrine of justification by faith was worked out by St. Paul in opposition to the Judaism of the Pharisees, which taught that justification was accomplished by one’s zeal for the Torah and by practicing what St. Paul referred to as the “works of the law” (Galatians 2:16).

The tension surfaced again in the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Here the doctrine of justification by faith was re-emphasized in reaction against certain practices of the mediaeval church, which implied that salvation was accomplished, or at least greatly augmented, by religious acts, indulgences, the accumulated merits of the saints and other things that might be labeled “works.” The seminal person was Martin Luther, who found peace with God by reading Romans and applying St. Paul’s arguments to the religious practices his day.

Every Christian needs to be able to hear, again and again, the good news that we are saved because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. He has fulfilled the law for us. When we put our faith in him, we become part of God’s people and our sins are forgiven. We receive the gift of the Spirit and become children of God and heirs of the kingdom. We cry out “Abba, Father.” All of this is a gift that cannot be earned or merited by any amount of prayer, almsgiving or fasting.

However, the notion that our status with God depends upon our works is not the only historical error of God’s people. At the end of the Old Testament, Israel ran into the opposite error. The people believed that because they were God’s chosen people and God lived among them in the temple, they were safe from their enemies and God’s judgment–even though they were not faithful to the Torah. Their presumption and faithlessness led to the destruction of the temple and the exile into Babylon.

If we believe that the experience of coming to faith in Jesus at a past moment is time is enough to guarantee our place in the kingdom, come what may, we are misinformed. We would do well to read again the letters the Risen Christ dictated to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3, the statements by Jesus that the road to life is narrow (Matthew 7:14) and that many are called, but few chosen (Matthew 22:14) and the various other New Testament warnings against unfaithfulness.

The characteristic error of our time is much closer to the presumption of Old Testament Israel than the legalism of the Pharisees or the mediaeval church. I have heard people warn against “salvation by works,” but I don’t know any people whose tortured consciences compel them to make long pilgrimages, wear hair shirts or purchase indulgences in order to insure their salvation. However, I do know people who think they will be saved because they have some kind of faith and trust that God will love, accept and forgive them no matter what they do. The characteristic error of our age is the denial of sin, guilt, judgment and the need to be saved at all.

The prophetic message for our time is to remind people that faith is a present tense verb that implies faithfulness. God has given us the gift of salvation, but he has also called to be a holy nation, a people set apart from the world. A faith that does not produce good works; a faith that does not cause us to behave in a new way; a faith that does not bear fruit is, by the clear teaching of the New Testament, a faith that is not pleasing to God.

The tension between the gift of salvation and the practice of spiritual disciplines is another biblical paradox. Salvation is a “free gift” but it ends up costing everything we have.” There is nothing we can do to be saved, but faith requires a lot of hard work. All who travail and are heavy laden can come to Jesus because his yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Yet, those who come discover that “he who does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

As we enter Lent and take up the Lenten fast, we must always keep these truths in their proper order. We begin by receiving the gift of salvation. Then, and only then, we work to cultivate the gift so that it grows in us and bears fruit. The whole apparatus of the Lenten fast crumbles if it is not built upon the foundation of faith. Lenten disciplines do not earn God’s favor. Lenten disciples help to get the world, the flesh and the devil out of the way so that we can more fully experience the gift of union with God in Christ.

The motive for all spiritual disciplines is love. Without the motive of love for God, all spiritual disciplines are worthless. This is what St. Paul says in the epistle (1 Corinthians 13). If I give all my goods away to the poor and am willing to die as a martyr for the faith, yet lack the gift of charity, agape or love, I gain nothing at all from my actions.

Love comes to us from God. St. John says, “It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). St. Paul says, “God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (5:5). Lent is built upon this foundation. Lent is our response of love to God’s love–and nothing else.

Thus, we must consider not only, What am I doing for Lent? We must also consider, Why am I doing it? Human nature will settle for an external sense of righteousness that lacks the virtue of charity, or warm sentiments without action. Genuine discipleship leads us to do God’s will from the motive of genuine love.

“Behold we go up to Jerusalem.” Easter awaits us on the other side of the cross. Easter will come as a gift and grace no matter what we do in Lent. Our highest and best Lenten efforts will not earn us the resurrection. But that is not why we make the effort in Lent. Lent is about opening our lives to a greater experience of God’s grace. Lent is opportunity to respond to God’s love with love; to draw closer in some way, to remove some distraction, to purify our motives, to die a little more so that we might live and love more fully. “Behold we go up to Jerusalem.”

Download this sermon.

Sexagesima

February 26, 2011

Before planting, a gardener will mix in generous amounts of top soil to loosen the dirt so that what is planted will be able to take root. He will remove any other growing things so that there is nothing in the soil to impede or compete with the growth of what is planted. And there are other threats. I was dismayed one morning to see small birds making a snack of my lawn re-seeding job.

These three distinct threats are highlighted in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed (Luke 8:4f.) The same seed was sown in every location. But it did not all bear fruit because of birds, hard soil and thorns or weeds. Jesus’ explanation makes it clear that these obstacles to growth correspond to what we call the enemies of the soul: the world, the flesh and the devil.

We should all be familiar with these. In baptism, we, or our godparents, were asked,

Dost thou renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, nor be led by them? (BCP 277).

Our response was, “I renounce them all; and, by God’s help, will endeavour not to follow, nor be led by them.”

We should have some sense of what these enemies are and how they impact our faith. We cannot renounce something if we do not know what it is.

The devil is a malevolent spiritual force who attempts to destroy our faith. He imposes a darkness of mind. He causes spiritual blindness. He makes people afraid to trust God and change. The devil’s goal is always to attack our faith. Though we typically associate the devil with extreme forms of evil, the devil is just as content to tempt us with pleasure and prosperity. For the devil, the thing itself means nothing. He is only concerned with whether the circumstance undermines or encourages faith.

The flesh is the misdirected desires of our own hearts, which cause us to naturally want the things that are not good for us. The world is the lure of pleasure, wealth and status, which are idols that compete with God for our affection and allegiance.

In the Sermon of the Mount (Matthew 6:1-18), Jesus speaks of three foundational spiritual disciplines: Prayer, almsgiving and fasting. These are the primary means of overcoming these enemies. Demonic temptation is conquered through prayer. Through prayer, we gain the wisdom we need to see the larger spiritual battle that is taking place within the visible battles of our lives. Through prayer, we find the grace we need to act faithfully in response.

The temptations of the flesh are overcome through fasting. The funny thing about the flesh, our fallen nature, is that it leads us to desire things that ultimately make us unhappy–yet we still want them. To break this cycle, we must learn to purposely abstain from these things. This helps us gain control over our desires so that we may say no when we ought to say no and yes when we ought to say yes. Paradoxically, we fast precisely because we want to enjoy the good that God has given us.

The temptation of the world is conquered through almsgiving. People often think that the reason for giving is that the church and the needy require funds. But these are secondary reasons for giving. Jesus did not command the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor because he saw how much good his money could do for the poor (Luke 18:18-27). He commanded the rich young ruler to sell all and give because the man’s heart was too attached to his money. He was captive to the world and needed to renounce the world in order to be saved.

We tithe and gives alms because we must renounce the world, and the way to renounce the world is to take what the world gives and values and dedicate it to Christ and the least of his brethren. “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

Three of the four parts of the seed in the parable represent people with an unfruitful faith. These people seemed to be among the people of God. The seed of the word was present in them, and even grew a bit. But it did not “bear fruit to perfection” because they did not conquer the enemies that opposed their faith.

They heard the word, but did not commit themselves to the life of prayer and never conquered the evil one. The heard the word, but did not moderate the desires of the flesh through fasting and, so, were overcome by temptation and testing. They heard the word, but did not renounce the world through almsgiving and, so, their affections remained divided.

This unfruitful faith results when we make peace with our enemies instead of conquering them. This state of spiritual compromise comes upon us gradually, the same way plants in a garden struggle because we neglect to do battle with the pests, the hard soil and the ever present weeds. It happens over time because neglect to fight the enemies. Then we get comfortable with it, or overwhelmed by the prospect of changing it.

We are getting ready for Lent, which gets us ready for Easter and the resurrection when fruitful faith will be rewarded. The church gives us Lent as an opportunity to do things we would not otherwise do. The church gives us Lent as an opportunity to wake up and change, to uproot and overturn the unfaithful status quo.

We have a week and a half until Lent begins. This is a week and a half to consider what kind of gardening will be necessary to make our faith more fruitful. How are the devil, the world and the flesh attacking our faith? What combination of increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving will we arm ourselves with so that we may have greater success in the battle?

In baptism we pray, “Grant that he (or she) may have power and strength to have victory, and to triumph, against the devil, the world, and the flesh” (BCP 278). This is the victory of Easter and it is waiting for all who are willing to fight the good fight and “bring forth fruit, with patience.”

Download this sermon.

Septuagesima

February 19, 2011

The next three Sundays are a season of transition. We begin to mention the “L” word. It is not Lent yet, but it is time to begin that spiritual inventory that provides the foundation for the Lenten fast. The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (the gospel, Matthew 20:1f.) highlights a timeless spiritual stumbling block; the tendency to compare ourselves with others. The all-day laborers were not unhappy–until they discovered that others were getting the same pay for less work.

The main point of the parable is that salvation can’t be quantified. You can’t have more or less of it. Whether you have been a believer all of your life or come to faith at the eleventh hour, you will receive the gift of salvation. However, this equality of reward necessarily means that God deals with us unequally. All who put their faith in Jesus will be saved. But among those of faith, some are rich and some are poor; some die young, while others live to a ripe old age. Some are subject to great tragedy, while others seem to skate through life unscathed. Some believe all of their life. Other come to faith near the hour of death.

Sometimes we are only too aware of these distinctions. When the risen Christ appeared to the disciples by the sea of Galilee, he told Peter that when he was old he would be bound and taken where he did not want to go. What was Peter’s concern in response? He pointed to John and said, What about him? (John 21:18-22).

Peter and John are constructive examples. Faith was a struggle for Peter. In one moment he was pulling out a sword to fight for Jesus; in another moment he was denying that he knew him. Things seemed to go easier for John. He was the beloved disciple, near Jesus at the Last Supper and in death. Each would be given his own spiritual path. Peter would die as a martyr, head down on the cross. John would spend time in exile, but would be the only apostle not to be a martyr. God allotted to each of them what each needed to progress to maturity–and what God allotted to each was no business of the other.

The tendency to compare sneaks into our lives. In prayer, we confess our sins and are reconciled with God. We get a sense of what God is doing in our lives. We see how he is working in all things for good. We see how he is helping us deal with our besetting sins and cultivate new virtues. We are thankful for our blessings. We are content. But then we go out into the world and begin to look around at what God is doing in the life of the friend, the co-worker, the acquaintance or, worst of all, the enemy. We begin to ask the cancerous questions. Why does she get to do that? Why does he have all those things? Why do I suffer more? When our attention was focused on God, his forgiveness of “my” sins and his providential ordering of “my” life, we were content. The discontent began when we started to compare the good that God has given me with the good God has given to another.

This is the deadly sin of envy. It is demonic in origin. The tradition tells us that Satan was created as a glorious angel. However, he became envious of the more glorious, eternally begotten Son of God. His own glory was not sufficient because of another whose glory was greater. The devil tempts us to think in the very same way.

God rejected Cain’s offering and Cain was angry (Genesis 4:3-8). God said, in essence, “Why are you angry? Correct your error and you will do well.” Had he focused on himself and his own sin, Cain might have done the necessary spiritual work of repentance. But Cain looked at Abel, whose offering God had accepted, became envious and killed him. Our envy is often rooted in our own sin. We envious of the righteous person because his presence reminds us that we are not righteous.

Envy is a motive for sin throughout the Bible. The son of Jacob were envious of Joseph and sold him into slavery. Saul was envious of David and tried to kill him. The Jewish leadership was envious of Jesus and handed him over to be crucified. We see obvious examples of envy in sports. Athlete A signs a ten million dollar contract and is content, until the following year athlete B signs a twelve million dollar contract. Athlete A can no longer be happy because he envies another. We rightly criticize and, even, laugh at this–until we realize that we do the very same thing every time we become unhappy because someone else has been given more.

Envy is based on the devil’s economy in which life is a zero-sum game. All compete for the scarce commodity of what is good. If you have more, I necessarily have less. Thus, I must begrudge you your good, for it means there will not be enough for me. In the economy of God’s grace, there is more than enough for everyone. The good that God gives to you does not detract from the good that God gives to me. There is more than a sufficient supply of what each of us need to be fulfilled and content.

Comparison is also rooted in the lie that happiness is based on our possessions, status or appearance. If this were true, the most happy and contented people would be the best looking people with the most money and status. But these are not the most happy and contented people. These are, often, the most envious and discontented people. The more you have, the greater is the temptation to compare.

The truth that Jesus teaches us is that contentment and true happiness come from our relationship with God. If we know Christ; if our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God, we have the really important thing. Through the presence of Christ in our lives, we learn, as Philippians says, “in whatever state I am to be content” (4:11). If we are in need, we learn to have greater faith. If we have enough, we learn to be generous and thankful. If we are called to serve, we learn to serve as unto the Lord. If we are in authority, we learn to exercise that authority for the good of others.

In the epistle (1 Corinthians 9:24f.), St. Paul describes the Christian life as a contest. It is a contest, not against other people, but against our spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. As we strive towards the goal of Easter, we must always bear in mind how our Lord responded to Peter’s question about John. “It’s none of your business. You follow me.” On the Day of Judgment, God will not ask us how we compared to someone else. God will ask us, simply, were you faithful with what I gave you? Were you faithful in the circumstance in which I placed you? Each of us is called to trust that God is doing his will in “my” life through the various trials and blessings he has prepared for me without worrying about what God is doing in the life of another whose trials seem lighter and blessings greater. As St. Paul says “Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize.”

Download this sermon.

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

February 12, 2011

The Christian hope is that we will see God. We call this hope the beatific vision. This is what St. John is talking about in the epistle (1 John 3:1f.) when he says, “We know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is.”

Moses saw God when he ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments. His face was so illuminated by the encounter that the people were afraid to look at him (Exodus 34:29-30). Job saw God, and was humbled by the vision. He said, “I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees thee. Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:5-6, RSV).

Neither Moses nor Job saw all there is to see of God. God had said to Moses, “You cannot see my face: for no man can see me, and live.” (Ex 33:20). Both were given the privilege of seeing the measure of God’s glory they could endure without being consumed.

Man cannot see the fullness of God’s glory because of sin. It is not merely that God won’t let us look at him. It is, rather, that we are literally unable to endure his glory and presence because of our condition–just like we can’t look at the sun without losing our sight or walk through fire without being burned.

The Old Testament system of sacrifice and purification was instituted precisely so that God’s redeemed people might be able to enter back into his presence and see him. In each stage of the drama of redemption, God brings man closer to himself, or God comes closer to man. Man’s vision of God becomes clearer.

The definitive step in the vision of God is the Incarnation. In the Old Testament, God had no form. Those who saw him saw what they described as a combination of grand luminosity and rare jewelry. In the New Testament, the Son of God, who is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), enables us to see God in a new way. As St. John says, “We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

A further progression in our vison of God is made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul contrasts the way Moses saw God with the way we see God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. The shining face of Moses faded over time. His vision of God resulted in a temporary glory that did not save him from death. Our vison of God in Christ through the Spirit results in an ever-increasing, eternal glory. As 2 Corinthians says, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory” (3:18).

We see God more clearly in Christ because our spiritual blindness has been healed. St. Paul says that the god of this world has “blinded the minds of those who do not believe” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The first miracle performed by the risen Christ was to give the gift of sight. He explained the Scriptures to the two men on the road to Emmaus, then he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. And “their eyes were opened and they knew him”(Luke 24:13-31, see also 24:45).

By grace, our minds are opened to understand the Scriptures and we know Christ in the breaking of the bread. We gather around the altar to see God. Not every problem is solved. Not every disease is healed–yet. But, as with Job, it is enough to see God and experience his presence. God gives us wisdom and strength for the present and hope for the future. “Now we are the children of God…And we know that when he appears we shall be like him.”

By grace, we see God in other people. We understand that people are not objects to be used or annoyances to be tolerated. They are made in the image of God and worthy of our time and love. By grace we see Christ in the members of his body. Christ ministers to us through the gifts of others, and we are called to serve Christ in others, especially in the least of his brethren (Matthew 25:40).

We see God through his redemptive presence in our lives. We experience the new creation as God brings his order out of our chaos, as the light of Christ shines in our darkness. By faith, we see the hand of God, even in bad things. We come to understand that, contrary to the visible evidence, God is in control. We learn that we can trust him to work in all things for good and finish his work in us.

We see God now by faith, but there is more to come. “We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” The word for appear in this passage means to reveal. It is connected to our word, “Epiphany.” What we call the “Second Coming” of Jesus is, really, a fuller revelation of Jesus. Jesus isn’t very far away. We just don’t see him fully yet. There are angels and demons in the world, but we don’t see them yet either. There is day of final revelation coming when our current vision will be expanded so that we can really see.

We wait and hope for the day when faith will give way to sight. We wait and hope for the day when God will fully reveal himself in all his glory. The revelation of God through Jesus will be judgment for the world and salvation for God’s people. Sin, death and all manor of evil will vanish from his presence in the very moment of his glorious appearance (cf. 2 Thess. 2:8). Those who belong to him, those who now see and know in part, will see and know fully. Now we experience redemption as a gradual process. Then we will experience redemption “in a moment, in the twinkling of any eye”(1 Corinthians 15:52).

St. John says that this hope purifies us. The desire to see God and be perfected by him is the beginning of holiness. And it puts life in perspective. In all of our trials and tribulations, and in the hour of death, we can say, with Job, “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth….And…in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26).

Download this sermon.

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

February 5, 2011

Moses saw God when he ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments. His face was so illuminated by the encounter that the people were afraid to look at him (Exodus 34:29-30). Job saw God, and was humbled by the vision. He said, “I had heard of thAny attempt to explain the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (the gospel, Matthew 13:24f.) must begin with Jesus’ own interpretation. In a passage in Matthew subsequent to our gospel, the disciples said, “Explain the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares.” Jesus said,

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Mat 13:37-43 KJV)

The tares are a kind of weed that resembles wheat, but does not bear any edible fruit. Because of this deceptive appearance, the farmer allows the tares to continue to grow lest he mistakenly destroy some of the good along with the bad. He separates the tares from the wheat in the harvest, when both are uprooted and the true nature of each is evident. Likewise, God now lets the good and the bad exist together until the day of judgement.

This clear cut nature of judgment in the parable is sobering. When we talk about judgement, we find grey area and much uncertainty. But when Jesus talks about the coming judgment, it is black and white. God will take the good and get rid of the bad. We explain so as to comfort. But Jesus explains so as to make uncomfortable.

We can understand the judgment only if we understand the nature of fruit. You cannot harvest grain, or any other fruit, unless seed is planted that grows and produces fruit. We cannot produce the fruit that God is looking for unless the seed of the Holy Spirit, which is planted in our hearts, grows and bears fruit. Fruit is the organic result of God’s presence in our lives.

This principle of fruit bearing is explained by Jesus in a passage in John’s Gospel, which, though it speaks of grape rather than grain, nonetheless addresses the same issue. Jesus said,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bring forth more fruit….Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He who abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned…Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:1-8 KJV)

Fruit is, essentially, changed behavior. We bear fruit because God lives in us and causes us to think and act in new ways. Changed behavior is the evidence that we are living “in Christ.” The absence of changed behavior is the evidence that we are not. Judgement is, thus, the revelation of whether or not we really live “in Christ,” of whether or not the seed of the Spirit has taken root, of whether or not we are attached to the true and life giving vine.

This process of fruit-bearing can be connected to the sacraments. God plants the seed of the Spirit in us in baptism. The life that is planted in baptism is fed by the Eucharist. As Jesus said,

Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6:53-56 KJV)

Of course, merely receiving the sacraments is no guarantee that one will bear fruit. The parable implies that the church itself contains both wheat and tares, both those who bear fruit and those who do not. We must, by faith, receive the life that is presented to us in the sacraments. We must, by acts of the will, follow the Holy Spirit and say no to the world, the flesh and the devil. In some the planted life takes root, grows and bears fruit. In others, to borrow from another agricultural parable, the planted life is hindered by temptation and the riches and cares of the world so that is does not take deep root or bear fruit to perfection (Luke 8:13-14).

We must have ears to hear and eyes to see so that we receive all that the liturgy presents to us. We must listen to the word of God and let it challenge and change our behavior. We must prepare for communion with sincerity of heart, making a genuine confession of what we have done wrong and making real efforts to reconcile with those we have offended. We must receive Christ by faith and let his presence produce new attitudes and behavior in us–all the good works he has prepared for us to walk in. The Christian life begins in prayer and results in fruit.

Today’s epistle (Colossians 3:12f.) what this fruit, or new behavior looks like:

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Col 3:12-17 KJV)

This is the kind of new behavior that bears witness to the life of Christ in us. This is the fruit that God is looking for when he comes to take his harvest home.ee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees thee. Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:5-6, RSV).

Download this sermon.

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

January 29, 2011

I’ve always been reluctant to continue a sermon theme from the previous week. It presumes that everyone was listening and can remember what was said. Nonetheless, the theme of foregoing personal vengeance from last weeks epistle (Romans 12:16f.) raises additional questions that are answered in part by this week’s epistle (Romans 13:1f.)

The main objection to being told, “Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath” is the implication that this relegates us to injustice until the Lord returns. St. Paul answers this objection in the epistle by explaining how the wrath of God may be executed in time. He tells us to be subject to the government (KJV, “higher powers”) because the ruler is “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

This is an astounding statement, for the one St. Paul sees as God’s minister is Caesar and those under his authority, who were notorious persecutors of Christians and the agents of St. Paul’s own death. But to call Caesar God’s minister is not to call Caesar virtuous. It is to say that since all authority comes from God, all who have authority and administer justice are God’s agents of justice.

This is, of course, a two edged sword. Caesar is “the minister of God,” but Caesar is also accountable to God for how he administers justice. The writings of the biblical prophets are full of references to rulers who were weighed in the balance by God and found wanting. To have God-given authority in any capacity is always responsibility and never merely privilege.

It is likely that St. Paul developed this framework of understanding by meditating on the situation of Israel at the end of the Old Testament. When Israel became unfaithful to God, God used pagan rulers as agents of his wrath. Chief among these in the Old Testament was Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah said that, because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, it was God’s will for the nation to willingly submit to Nebuchadnezzar’s authority. When Israel refused, Nebuchadnezzar, God’s agent of judgement, invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the temple (cf. Jeremiah 39:1-10).

A parallel situation prevails in the New Testament. Jesus said that those who judged him would see him “coming on a cloud” in judgment (Matthew 26:64, a reference to Daniel 7:13-14). In the context of the first century, the promised judgement came through the Roman Legions who invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the temple and the city.

It should be noted that all the pagan rulers whom God used to execute justice on his people ended up subsequently being judged by God for their own sins. Again, saying that Caesar is the minister of God is not saying that Caesar is always just. It is saying that all authority is ultimately from God. All rulers serve at God’s permission and will ultimately be held accountable by God.

God’s judgment on pagan rulers is a central theme of Daniel 7:1-14, where Daniel has a vision of one “like the Son of Man”–a title Jesus claims for himself in the New Testament. In his visions, Daniel saw four successive world empires, which were portrayed as beasts–a lion, a bear, a leopard and a fourth beast more dreadful that the first three. Their beastly appearance indicates that they were ravenous and sub-human. In Daniel, God gives his universal authority to the “Son of Man” because he is the genuinely human one, the true descendant of Adam, the one who will rule righteously and fulfill the human vocation that Adam lost through sin. The authentically human Son of Man will supplant all sub-human pretenders to the throne.

In the interim period until the Second Coming, Jesus reigns in heaven as Lord. He uses temporal rulers execute justice. This is why we pray for them. For most of Christian history in the west, the rulers the church prayed for were at least nominally Christian. This is no longer necessarily the case. This is why we pray for the actual people who have authority over us, rather than only “Christian rulers.” The New Testament instructs us to pray for all in authority, not just the ones who are believers. As 1 Timothy says,

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and or all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (1Ti 2:1-2 KJV).

From the understanding that temporal authorities are God’s ministers of justice, we can glean a few practical points. First, God does not want us to be lawless and rebellious. This is why the New Testament constantly exhorts us to submit to authority. Sin is lawlessness. The original sin was to rebel against the authority of God. It is a sin to disobey authority God has ordained–unless that authority tells us to do something that is wrong. We should obey the laws of the land. We should be subject to the authority of the church. We should honor authority in the family. We should honor God’s rule through those he has put in place to rule for him.

Another practical point is that we are called to be just. From time to time, each of us may find ourselves in some position of authority. We are called to exercise that authority justly, with impartiality, for the good of those under our authority and never for mere personal advantage. All authority is God’s authority. We, too, will be held accountable.

A third point is that there is no conflict between forgiveness and justice. There can be both personal forgiveness and judicial consequences. I can surrender my right of retribution to God. I can forgive a murderer. And, in the same situation, the state can be the avenger on God’s behalf and execute him. In terms of forgiveness, it my responsibility to let go of anger and bitterness so that I am not led into sin. It is my responsibility to commit the task of vengeance to God and those appointed by him. But it is the state’s job to administer justice so that evil does not go unpunished. I must forgive and not seek personal vengeance. But the state must not forgive. It must be the just avenger. The failure to understand this distinction leads to a great deal of muddled thinking about forgiveness.

Justice in time is always less than complete. This is why the promise that “He shall come again with glory to judge” is so central to our faith. If the powers that be fail as God’s ministers, we know that the Lord will come, finish the job and hold unjust rulers accountable. Until then, we are called to obey those whom God has put in authority, to be subject not only for fear of punishment but also so that we may have a clear conscience and stand blameless before the Judge on that Day.

Download this sermon.

Third Sunday after Epiphany

January 22, 2011

The epistles for the Sundays after Epiphany are a sequential reading from Romans 12:1-13:7. They are exhortations to think and act in ways that are appropriate for those to whom Christ has been revealed. Today’s exhortation (Romans 12:16f.) is that we should respond to evil, not with evil, but with good. We should not avenge ourselves, but should commit the task of judgment to God.

This teaching is more attractive when it is exemplified by someone else. Jesus responded to his Good Friday adversaries by saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). We see this as a beautiful thing. But when someone harms or humiliates us or someone we love, many of us prefer Psalm 143:12: “Of thy goodness slay mine enemies.”

The problem is heightened, especially for the male of the species, when the command to avenge not ourselves is explained in a way that gives the impression that Christianity is a religion of weakness; as if it is God’s will is for us to get our butts kicked all the time–and smile while it happens. But this is not the point. The epistle says: “Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” The reason for not taking justice into our own hands is that God plans to execute justice on our behalf in his good time.

Two problems arise when we attempt to avenge ourselves. The first is that we are not always just. Our attempts to right the wrong complicate rather than resolve the issue. This is seen in feuds that last for millennia. Some initial wrong was perpetuated by one party on another. The wronged party struck back in some disproportionate way–as, for example, when Simeon and Levi responded to the rape of their sister by killing every male in Shechem n (Genesis 34:1-26). The reprisal then leads to yet another attack by the original offender. A thousand years later all you have is long list of wrongs of which each side accuses the other–and wounds that are extremely deep.

The second problem with taking justice into our own hands that we run the risk of becoming guilty ourselves in the process. Take the aforementioned example of Simeon and Levi. Their family was the innocent party in the rape. But in their response they became guilty of murder. They were changed from innocent victims, who could appeal to the Great Judge, into guilty people worthy of punishment themselves.

This is a significant consideration in our lives. We are all wronged from time to time. If we are honest, we will admit that we harbor the occasional grudge. We begin to look at someone with angry thoughts and intentions. We may–only, of course, on the rarest of occasions–utter an unkind word about our adversary. This is a slippery slope. At what point in our unrighteous response do we transition from innocent victim into guilty offender? At what point do transition from people who can pray, “Lord, come and judge” into people who also have cause to fear that judgment?

This is why we are commanded to forgive. To forgive another is to surrender our right of retribution. It is to quit our job as judge and jury–a job we do very poorly–and commit the task of judgement to the One who alone can judge rightly. For “He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead.” “Vengeance is mine I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Judgment is not a popular topic. However, the promise of the Lord to repay is at the very center of our faith. It would be very hard to believe in a God who did not intend to right the wrongs of this unjust world. As Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Mat 12:36 KJV). No tyrant, murderer, or thief–and no one who has wronged any of us in significant ways–is getting away with anything. God will reward each for what he has done. There will be eternal justice for all transgressions in time.

Of course, there is forgiveness for those who confess their sins and put their faith in Jesus. This is the gospel. Jesus saves us by his blood from the wrath that is come on the world because of sin. That is why you are here. You have been forgiven. You have been saved by the cross from the judgment that is coming on the earth. In Christ, God had been gracious to you. He has not, and will not, give your sins all the recompense they deserve. This is why you must be willing to extend grace to those who have wronged you. You must forgive because you have been forgiven.

All sin will be dealt with in one of two ways. Either by repentance and the forgiveness God has made available to all through the cross; or by the just judgment of Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead, who will render to everyone according to what he has done (Romans 2:6, Revelation 2:23, 20:13).

The New Testament shows us that God will judge, both on the Last Day and in time. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” However, after a generation of time during which Jerusalem had opportunity to repent and did not, judgment came upon the city. Jerusalem was destroyed in A. D. 70, an act of judgement that Jesus prophesied in Luke 19:43-44. Thus, he who prayed for their forgiveness was also their just judge when they refused to repent.

When we respond to evil with good and forgive those who wrong us, we maintain our innocence and commit the responsibility of judgment to God. This is not about being weak. It is about fighting the right battle. We are not trying to vindicate our pride by proving ourselves right in some temporal dispute. We are aiming to win the larger eternal war. We are aiming to stand blameless among the redeemed on the Last Day.

And we are a sign of the presence of Christ in the world. In the gospel (John 2:1f.) Jesus turned water into wine, a miracle that revealed him to be the creator, the one who changes things. St. John says that in this sign, Jesus “manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed in him.” In a similar miracle, Jesus has changed us from ordinary, fallen, vengeful and angry people into blameless children of God who are able to be gracious as God is gracious. This transformation is revealed through our changed behavior, as we refuse to avenge ourselves, as we respond to the evil with the good, as we love, even our enemies. In this way God’s glory is manifested through us, so that others might see and believe.

Download this sermon.

The Rt. Rev'd Stephen C. Scarlett

Footer