The lights of Lancaster reflect on the slate gray clouds of this rainy evening,
And the dark tracery of the trees stands like a rood screen in some great cathederal of old.
The curling smoke of Dominican tobacco curls seductively like incense,
While Irish whiskey fortifies me against the cold of a late winter's night.
Terriers, ever faithful, walk the bounds as if rogation day is upon us,
like choristers in a simpler time, they follow those instincts which come only from God.
And the rain falls gently, ever so gently, to bring new life to garden and copse,
Simple reminders that the grace of a loving heavenly Father is with us still.
The father of lies savages church and kingdom, and things are not as they were,
But here, in this hallowed place, evidence abounds that God reigns, patient and triumphant,
Ever blessing, ever blest, seerene and at peace with all he has made,
Waiting that we might have ample time to repent and be reconciled to him through Christ our Lord.
The quiet of the night is broken only by the sound of the rain,
And the problems of the morrow are buried in the night.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
A Godly Man and True: Daniel Martins
Bishop Martins of Springfield
For some time, I've been following the thought provoking blog of one of the Communion Partner Bishops, The Right Reverend Daniel Martins of Springfield, Illinois. He first came to my notice at the recommendation of Fr. David Halt, a priest in the Diocese of Springfield and an old Army buddy.
Over the last few years, it has been increasingly difficult to function with integrity as a traditionalist in mainline American protestantism. Creedal Faith is almost regularly redefined and often the authority of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition is rejected outright in favor of personal feelings and "individual evolving truth" (whatever that means.) For many of us in the Communion Partner Movement http://www.communionpartners.org/, Bishop Martins is proving a real inspiration and source of leadership, especially in light of the departure of the Diocese of South Carolina from the Episcopal Church.
A few months back, Title IV disciplinary charges were brought against Bishop Martins and several other bishops after they expressed theological opinions about the nature of the church in civil court cases outside their dioceses. In the past few days, the results of the "conciliation process" were released http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=17294.
Many have criticised Bishop Martins for signing the conciliation document. It is easy to condemn a brother in the first flush of anger, but I believe that he, and the others charged, have prayerfully done what they believe is the best for their dioceses and for the ministry to which they are called. Bishop Martins' response to his critics can be found at http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/ in his March 10th, 2013 posting, entitled "Conciliation."
Daniel, Right Reverend Father in God, know that one dinosaur here in Southern Ohio appreciates the difficulty of your situation, and your faithfulness to God in the midst of that situation. May God bless you, and give you wisdom and strength to keep the faith received.
Sincerely,
Bill Pursley+
Communion Partner Rector
PS: You can follow the Bishop's thoughts at http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/ and at http://movingdiagonally.blogspot.com/.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Sermon: The Prodigal Son (or Sons); Luke 15:11-32
Sermon for Lent IV C, Revised Common Lectionary
Preached at St. John’s Lancaster on 10 March, MMXIII
Luke 15:11-32
Today’s Gospel lesson is part of a larger series of parables Jesus told to illustrate the effusive and incredible scope of God’s love for us. He spoke to a mixed audience, which included both observant Jews and shall we say, those who were not so observant. The question arose during the discourse about Jesus’ habit of mingling with “sinners” who were certainly included among those who were less than observant. What we usually call “the parable of the prodigal son” constitutes the bulk of our Lord’s answer to those assembled that day. But when we focus on “the prodigal” son who fell into rebellion and sin, we miss a good half of the parable. In the second part of the story, we see the rather justified if hard hearted response of “big brother” to “little brother’s” return. It is in the combination of these two men that we more perfectly know God’s love and expectation for those who call upon his Name. And the lesson is just as true for us as it was for them two millennia ago.
As we start our consideration of the text, it is essential to note that the Father, who doubtless represents God in this passage, calls both boys his sons. This is important, because there is a tendency to treat this parable as two, and to look only at the half which makes our point, which is often as political as it is religious in nature. It is essential for us as Christians to consider the whole of God’s teaching if we are to follow him as he would have us to do.
One school of Christian thought, I will call those who adhere to it “the responsibility and order crowd,” considers primarily the first part of the parable. It maintains that all of those undisciplined, lazy, irresponsible, rebellious, and selfish people who walk apart from God need to admit that they are wrong, humble themselves, ask forgiveness, and change their ways. All of that is true. The second school of thought, which I will call “the sensitive, caring, peace and justice crowd,” considers the second half of the parable. It maintains that the older brother, the one who goes to temple and synagogue, keeps the holiness portion of the law, and does not gamble, smoke, drink, or kiss girls who do; has missed the whole point of the law by being hard hearted and mean spirited. He needs to admit that he is wrong, humble himself, ask forgiveness, and change his ways. All of that is true. The problem with the two schools of thought is that they only read what supports their own political outlook and social agenda. The first despises the poor and the second hates the rich. God on the other hand loves all people, and calls us all to worry about the beams in our own eyes before we move on to the speck of dust in the eye of our neighbor. I think it is especially important that we look at the reality of the fact that God’s word is for all people today, and that Jesus doesn’t single out the rich or the poor, the haves or the have not’s, in his teaching about God’s love, or about loving each other if we are to love him. If you are in the fabled “one percent” today (or aspire to be) and bear the Name of Jesus Christ, you are called by Jesus to love and understand the 47% who the politicians of your ilk say would never vote to your liking. If your heart is cast with those whom you believe have been marginalized by oppressive policies and institutions, or if you believe yourself to be among the marginalized, and if you bear the Name of Jesus Christ, you are called to reject the call to denounce and abhor what demagogues call the 1% and those whom you believe mistakenly support their unjust and oppressive practices and institutions.
God does not give us the option of loving one class of people and rejecting another. He does not allow us the indulgence of lionizing one group and demonizing another. That Jesus has the Father calling both brothers “his sons” calls you and me to realize that no one is beyond The Father’s love, and that we all have some changing to do. But what is the nature of that change? It is after all still Lent.
First, if you have a tendency to be like little brother, that is, you are the life of the party and never met a stranger, but you play loose and free with chastity, or taking care of your body, or being responsible with money or property or power entrusted to you, or with your broader responsibility to your family, or your employer, or nation, then learn from little brother in the story. Like someone in a good twelve step program, he realized that he was trapped in sin, saw he couldn’t fix it himself, came home, said he was sorry, exhibited true humility and stated his intent to not do again what he had done before. That is the expectation that God the Father has for us all. We call it the Expectation of Holiness, or Obedience.
But if you are more like big brother, that is you are always responsible, and in church, and you coach or volunteer at the school, and your bills are always paid on time, and you mow your grass to maintain property values in the neighborhood; but you are unforgiving, and judgmental, and unwilling to give a person another chance, then learn from what the story has to say about big brother. Learn to color your responsibility with mercy and start passing on to others a bit of the grace that God gave to you. Come down off of your high horse and admit in humility that Jesus died that we all might be saved, and start acting a bit more like Jesus in your relations with other people. That is the expectation of God the Father for us all. We call it the Expectation of Love, or Grace.
That’s about it for today. It doesn’t take a lot of thought or introspection for most of us to know what we need to work on. Actually, most of us probably have a bit of both brothers in us. While the Bible doesn’t say, I’ve always hoped that both boys grew up to be more like their father. Because that has always been God’s desire, that we would be more like him, living lives characterized by Love and by Holiness, by Obedience and by Grace.
Let us pray. “Heavenly Father, enable us to move beyond our presuppositions and agendas, beyond politics and philosophy, to consider the whole counsel of God. Make us ever to be humble and obedient, loving and gracious, and let us demonstrate to all the world what your love is like by how we love each other, and how we live in responsible obedience to your commands. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. AMEN.
Preached at St. John’s Lancaster on 10 March, MMXIII
Luke 15:11-32
 |
| A Tale of Two Brothers |
Today’s Gospel lesson is part of a larger series of parables Jesus told to illustrate the effusive and incredible scope of God’s love for us. He spoke to a mixed audience, which included both observant Jews and shall we say, those who were not so observant. The question arose during the discourse about Jesus’ habit of mingling with “sinners” who were certainly included among those who were less than observant. What we usually call “the parable of the prodigal son” constitutes the bulk of our Lord’s answer to those assembled that day. But when we focus on “the prodigal” son who fell into rebellion and sin, we miss a good half of the parable. In the second part of the story, we see the rather justified if hard hearted response of “big brother” to “little brother’s” return. It is in the combination of these two men that we more perfectly know God’s love and expectation for those who call upon his Name. And the lesson is just as true for us as it was for them two millennia ago.
As we start our consideration of the text, it is essential to note that the Father, who doubtless represents God in this passage, calls both boys his sons. This is important, because there is a tendency to treat this parable as two, and to look only at the half which makes our point, which is often as political as it is religious in nature. It is essential for us as Christians to consider the whole of God’s teaching if we are to follow him as he would have us to do.
One school of Christian thought, I will call those who adhere to it “the responsibility and order crowd,” considers primarily the first part of the parable. It maintains that all of those undisciplined, lazy, irresponsible, rebellious, and selfish people who walk apart from God need to admit that they are wrong, humble themselves, ask forgiveness, and change their ways. All of that is true. The second school of thought, which I will call “the sensitive, caring, peace and justice crowd,” considers the second half of the parable. It maintains that the older brother, the one who goes to temple and synagogue, keeps the holiness portion of the law, and does not gamble, smoke, drink, or kiss girls who do; has missed the whole point of the law by being hard hearted and mean spirited. He needs to admit that he is wrong, humble himself, ask forgiveness, and change his ways. All of that is true. The problem with the two schools of thought is that they only read what supports their own political outlook and social agenda. The first despises the poor and the second hates the rich. God on the other hand loves all people, and calls us all to worry about the beams in our own eyes before we move on to the speck of dust in the eye of our neighbor. I think it is especially important that we look at the reality of the fact that God’s word is for all people today, and that Jesus doesn’t single out the rich or the poor, the haves or the have not’s, in his teaching about God’s love, or about loving each other if we are to love him. If you are in the fabled “one percent” today (or aspire to be) and bear the Name of Jesus Christ, you are called by Jesus to love and understand the 47% who the politicians of your ilk say would never vote to your liking. If your heart is cast with those whom you believe have been marginalized by oppressive policies and institutions, or if you believe yourself to be among the marginalized, and if you bear the Name of Jesus Christ, you are called to reject the call to denounce and abhor what demagogues call the 1% and those whom you believe mistakenly support their unjust and oppressive practices and institutions.
God does not give us the option of loving one class of people and rejecting another. He does not allow us the indulgence of lionizing one group and demonizing another. That Jesus has the Father calling both brothers “his sons” calls you and me to realize that no one is beyond The Father’s love, and that we all have some changing to do. But what is the nature of that change? It is after all still Lent.
First, if you have a tendency to be like little brother, that is, you are the life of the party and never met a stranger, but you play loose and free with chastity, or taking care of your body, or being responsible with money or property or power entrusted to you, or with your broader responsibility to your family, or your employer, or nation, then learn from little brother in the story. Like someone in a good twelve step program, he realized that he was trapped in sin, saw he couldn’t fix it himself, came home, said he was sorry, exhibited true humility and stated his intent to not do again what he had done before. That is the expectation that God the Father has for us all. We call it the Expectation of Holiness, or Obedience.
But if you are more like big brother, that is you are always responsible, and in church, and you coach or volunteer at the school, and your bills are always paid on time, and you mow your grass to maintain property values in the neighborhood; but you are unforgiving, and judgmental, and unwilling to give a person another chance, then learn from what the story has to say about big brother. Learn to color your responsibility with mercy and start passing on to others a bit of the grace that God gave to you. Come down off of your high horse and admit in humility that Jesus died that we all might be saved, and start acting a bit more like Jesus in your relations with other people. That is the expectation of God the Father for us all. We call it the Expectation of Love, or Grace.
That’s about it for today. It doesn’t take a lot of thought or introspection for most of us to know what we need to work on. Actually, most of us probably have a bit of both brothers in us. While the Bible doesn’t say, I’ve always hoped that both boys grew up to be more like their father. Because that has always been God’s desire, that we would be more like him, living lives characterized by Love and by Holiness, by Obedience and by Grace.
Let us pray. “Heavenly Father, enable us to move beyond our presuppositions and agendas, beyond politics and philosophy, to consider the whole counsel of God. Make us ever to be humble and obedient, loving and gracious, and let us demonstrate to all the world what your love is like by how we love each other, and how we live in responsible obedience to your commands. Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. AMEN.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Sermon for Lent IIIC, I Corinthians 10:1-13
The Third Sunday in Lent, Year C Revised Common Lectionary
I Corinthians 10:1-13
Preached at St. John's Lancaster 3 March, 2013
I hope everyone has been reading their Bibles as a part of this year’s Lenten devotion. Indeed, I hope that regular Bible reading is a habit that we all cultivate in our lives. Today’s second lesson from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians explains why reading and understanding the Bible is so important to us. He points out that the accounts we read in the Old Testament are there because God wants to give us examples of how we can receive his blessings, and he wants to give us warnings of how we can arrange for things to go terribly wrong in our lives if we choose that option.
The Children of Israel were much like all people in every age. There were very difficult times in their lives- they were slaves in Egypt. God delivered them in a mighty way, that is, he gave them a wonderful experience which would define who they were as a people and which was so memorable that they would pass the memory of it on to their children. I suppose you could call it a “conversion” of sorts. Through the plagues against Pharaoh’s Egypt, and by the miraculous passage through the Red Sea, which delivered them from their persecutors, God came into their lives in a way that no observant person could ever attribute to coincidence, or luck, or to their own wisdom or hard work. Many of us here have been in such a situation. Things had not gone so well in our lives. Problems at work, problems at home, and problems larger than our ability to cope were all around us. Some of them we could not help- a mean spirited boss, a shift in the markets or in demand for the products we sold, or some illness that seemed to come out of the blue. Other things were easier to understand, because we were participants in and witnesses to our enslavement to drink, or to money, or to illicit sexual encounters in person or on-line. Perhaps the slavery which marred our time in our own Egypt had more to do with those ongoing marginal decisions we had made thoughtlessly over the years to ignore our children or to take our spouse for granted. Perhaps we convinced ourselves that we needed a lifestyle we could not afford, and our enslavement to luxury or status led us to a worship of mammon that called us to be less than honest with our business associates and customers, and plunged us deeper and deeper into debt. But whatever the nature of our enslavement, and regardless of the degree to which it was self-inflicted, God came to us in our need. You recognized your hopeless situation and cried out with countless millions through the ages, “Lord’ have mercy on me, a sinner.” You freely acknowledged to God the mess you were in and your own part in it. And then Jesus came to you. Like that woman with the issue of blood, you reached out to touch the hem of his garment. You cried out from the depths of your heart, “Jesus! I believe that you are the Christ, the anointed one, the long awaited one, and that God raised you from the dead!” And in that moment you knew that he had heard you, and as the blood of the Everlasting Covenant washed over you, you knew that Jesus Christ had saved you from your sins, and that you were a new creature. You had crossed the Red Sea, and while many temptations and hardships remained, there was no doubt in your mind that you were bound for the promised land.
And so here we are today, on this Third Sunday of Lent in the Year of Our Redemption 2013. Like the children of Israel, we have been delivered from that sin “which so easily beset us” in former times. We are new creatures in Jesus Christ. “Old things are passed away and all things are become new.” “We can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.” But like the Children of Israel in the wilderness, sometimes our faith grows weak. Sometimes our minds wander. And sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of that mess which God calls sin, that is, the missing of the mark of God’s will. It is an archery term which is most unforgiving. It means to miss the bull’s eye. And even to the most sincere and devoted of us, “it lurks like a ravening lion, seeking whom it may devour.” The sins to which the Children of Israel succumbed in the wilderness are pretty much the same ones which tempt us today, because people are people in every age. We may have different technology and wear different clothes, but people are people. Some of them were idolaters, and their golden calf is hardly different from the desire for money or power or security which drives so many of us today. Some of them committed sexual sin, which the Bible defines as an intimate physical relationship or the lead up to the same with any person other than our spouse within the traditional understanding of marriage. They, along with all those who prayed to and danced before the golden calf were killed by the spear and sword. Some of them despised God’s provision of manna and water and flesh and reviled Moses the prophet. They were bitten by poisonous snakes, but the survivors were shown his mercy and called to repentance.
As the Scriptures today tell us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man.” You see, they were not that different from us. They worshipped money, power, entertainment, sex, good food, security and control. They thought someone else owed them something. They did not appreciate what others did. They were complainers with a noticeable set toward negativity. Again I say, they were not so different from any of us on a bad day. St. Paul says that their histories were recorded that we might have an example of how their sins brought about their downfall, and that we might see how God comes in the darkest moment to offer us deliverance and healing and a new start. The Apostle continues, “Let the person who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” It is a sobering thought, and we all know it to be true. How many times have you found the greatest temptation assaulting you when you seemed the most comfortable and perhaps even the closest to God? But all is not lost. These temptations which we face are the common lot of our species. Because the devil knows us and he knows his work, and he seeks to destroy us and our relationships with God. Life is hard and temptation is real, but St. Paul goes on to give us hope. “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” And in the midst of our temptations, in the difficulty of your own personal wilderness temptation, God will come to you and never leave you without a way to cope, and to escape the threat to your soul. It may not be an easy way. It probably will not be. But God provides a way, and he says to you as he said to so many, “your faith has made you whole. Go and sin no more.” Note that he does not say “It’s ok, you did your best,” or “I understand that it has been really hard for you, and you didn’t fall quite as hard as you did before.” He forgives, and he strengthens, and he expects our cooperative response to his saving and enabling grace. Sometimes we may fall into sin, but it is never ok. We are called to live as new creatures, and when we do fail- when we “miss the bull’s eye" - our hearts ought to be broken with remorse because we failed him who loved us and named us as his own. We ought to ask his forgiveness and work on developing those understandings and skills and disciplines which will make it likely that we will avoid that same fall in the future. And we must always remember: where God calls- he enables.
I find it very interesting that in the passage of scripture which follows today’s second lesson immediately, the Apostle to the Gentiles talks about Holy Communion. It seems that in Corinth, and in Greek society in general, there were certain economic links between pagan religion and the food supply, a sort of “Kosher in reverse” if you will. There were also real divisions between the more well off and the less well off in the local pot lucks which often accompanied services of Holy Communion. Paul employs these realities to point out to the church that when we come to communion, our hearts must be pure, a “living sacrifice” as it were, “dedicated wholly unto God.” We dare not come to Communion while harboring the sorts of sins that our common human temptations cause us to commit. He bluntly says, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (I Cor 10:21) You can’t have it both ways. If you have sin in your life, for instance actions and attitudes brought on by love of money, power, entertainment, sex, good food, control, security, by a sense of entitlement, or an unappreciative spirit, or a negative demeanor, or any of those other things which are common to our race, and if you are unwilling to be sorry for them and stop doing them, then you shouldn’t come to communion today, because you can’t have it both ways. You are either God’s child, or you are not God’s child. Now I can assure you that he want’s you to come today. He wants you to receive his grace and be in fellowship with him, but to play both sides against the middle, to receive the blessed body and blood of Jesus now, with the full intent that you will continue to sin after you leave this holy place, is an affront to God. So, whatever sin plagues and tempts you today; however you struggle to “hit the bull’s eye" of God’s will for your life, determine this day to appropriate God’s grace for your specific circumstance. Tell him you are very sorry for your past failures. Tell him that with his help, the help which he promised, you fully intend not to do the same thing again. Acclaim Jesus as your Lord, and believe that God the Father has raised him from the dead. And come to this altar today to receive the precious sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Revel in the fact that you are an adopted child of God the Father, a very sibling of Jesus Christ, and that now you live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Take this knowledge with you into the world. Your faith has made you whole. Go and sin no more. AMEN.
I Corinthians 10:1-13
Preached at St. John's Lancaster 3 March, 2013
 |
| Our Master, Saviour, Brother, and Friend |
 |
| Jesus who saves us, whatever our situation, whoever's fault it is |
The Children of Israel were much like all people in every age. There were very difficult times in their lives- they were slaves in Egypt. God delivered them in a mighty way, that is, he gave them a wonderful experience which would define who they were as a people and which was so memorable that they would pass the memory of it on to their children. I suppose you could call it a “conversion” of sorts. Through the plagues against Pharaoh’s Egypt, and by the miraculous passage through the Red Sea, which delivered them from their persecutors, God came into their lives in a way that no observant person could ever attribute to coincidence, or luck, or to their own wisdom or hard work. Many of us here have been in such a situation. Things had not gone so well in our lives. Problems at work, problems at home, and problems larger than our ability to cope were all around us. Some of them we could not help- a mean spirited boss, a shift in the markets or in demand for the products we sold, or some illness that seemed to come out of the blue. Other things were easier to understand, because we were participants in and witnesses to our enslavement to drink, or to money, or to illicit sexual encounters in person or on-line. Perhaps the slavery which marred our time in our own Egypt had more to do with those ongoing marginal decisions we had made thoughtlessly over the years to ignore our children or to take our spouse for granted. Perhaps we convinced ourselves that we needed a lifestyle we could not afford, and our enslavement to luxury or status led us to a worship of mammon that called us to be less than honest with our business associates and customers, and plunged us deeper and deeper into debt. But whatever the nature of our enslavement, and regardless of the degree to which it was self-inflicted, God came to us in our need. You recognized your hopeless situation and cried out with countless millions through the ages, “Lord’ have mercy on me, a sinner.” You freely acknowledged to God the mess you were in and your own part in it. And then Jesus came to you. Like that woman with the issue of blood, you reached out to touch the hem of his garment. You cried out from the depths of your heart, “Jesus! I believe that you are the Christ, the anointed one, the long awaited one, and that God raised you from the dead!” And in that moment you knew that he had heard you, and as the blood of the Everlasting Covenant washed over you, you knew that Jesus Christ had saved you from your sins, and that you were a new creature. You had crossed the Red Sea, and while many temptations and hardships remained, there was no doubt in your mind that you were bound for the promised land.
And so here we are today, on this Third Sunday of Lent in the Year of Our Redemption 2013. Like the children of Israel, we have been delivered from that sin “which so easily beset us” in former times. We are new creatures in Jesus Christ. “Old things are passed away and all things are become new.” “We can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.” But like the Children of Israel in the wilderness, sometimes our faith grows weak. Sometimes our minds wander. And sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of that mess which God calls sin, that is, the missing of the mark of God’s will. It is an archery term which is most unforgiving. It means to miss the bull’s eye. And even to the most sincere and devoted of us, “it lurks like a ravening lion, seeking whom it may devour.” The sins to which the Children of Israel succumbed in the wilderness are pretty much the same ones which tempt us today, because people are people in every age. We may have different technology and wear different clothes, but people are people. Some of them were idolaters, and their golden calf is hardly different from the desire for money or power or security which drives so many of us today. Some of them committed sexual sin, which the Bible defines as an intimate physical relationship or the lead up to the same with any person other than our spouse within the traditional understanding of marriage. They, along with all those who prayed to and danced before the golden calf were killed by the spear and sword. Some of them despised God’s provision of manna and water and flesh and reviled Moses the prophet. They were bitten by poisonous snakes, but the survivors were shown his mercy and called to repentance.
As the Scriptures today tell us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man.” You see, they were not that different from us. They worshipped money, power, entertainment, sex, good food, security and control. They thought someone else owed them something. They did not appreciate what others did. They were complainers with a noticeable set toward negativity. Again I say, they were not so different from any of us on a bad day. St. Paul says that their histories were recorded that we might have an example of how their sins brought about their downfall, and that we might see how God comes in the darkest moment to offer us deliverance and healing and a new start. The Apostle continues, “Let the person who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” It is a sobering thought, and we all know it to be true. How many times have you found the greatest temptation assaulting you when you seemed the most comfortable and perhaps even the closest to God? But all is not lost. These temptations which we face are the common lot of our species. Because the devil knows us and he knows his work, and he seeks to destroy us and our relationships with God. Life is hard and temptation is real, but St. Paul goes on to give us hope. “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” And in the midst of our temptations, in the difficulty of your own personal wilderness temptation, God will come to you and never leave you without a way to cope, and to escape the threat to your soul. It may not be an easy way. It probably will not be. But God provides a way, and he says to you as he said to so many, “your faith has made you whole. Go and sin no more.” Note that he does not say “It’s ok, you did your best,” or “I understand that it has been really hard for you, and you didn’t fall quite as hard as you did before.” He forgives, and he strengthens, and he expects our cooperative response to his saving and enabling grace. Sometimes we may fall into sin, but it is never ok. We are called to live as new creatures, and when we do fail- when we “miss the bull’s eye" - our hearts ought to be broken with remorse because we failed him who loved us and named us as his own. We ought to ask his forgiveness and work on developing those understandings and skills and disciplines which will make it likely that we will avoid that same fall in the future. And we must always remember: where God calls- he enables.
I find it very interesting that in the passage of scripture which follows today’s second lesson immediately, the Apostle to the Gentiles talks about Holy Communion. It seems that in Corinth, and in Greek society in general, there were certain economic links between pagan religion and the food supply, a sort of “Kosher in reverse” if you will. There were also real divisions between the more well off and the less well off in the local pot lucks which often accompanied services of Holy Communion. Paul employs these realities to point out to the church that when we come to communion, our hearts must be pure, a “living sacrifice” as it were, “dedicated wholly unto God.” We dare not come to Communion while harboring the sorts of sins that our common human temptations cause us to commit. He bluntly says, “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (I Cor 10:21) You can’t have it both ways. If you have sin in your life, for instance actions and attitudes brought on by love of money, power, entertainment, sex, good food, control, security, by a sense of entitlement, or an unappreciative spirit, or a negative demeanor, or any of those other things which are common to our race, and if you are unwilling to be sorry for them and stop doing them, then you shouldn’t come to communion today, because you can’t have it both ways. You are either God’s child, or you are not God’s child. Now I can assure you that he want’s you to come today. He wants you to receive his grace and be in fellowship with him, but to play both sides against the middle, to receive the blessed body and blood of Jesus now, with the full intent that you will continue to sin after you leave this holy place, is an affront to God. So, whatever sin plagues and tempts you today; however you struggle to “hit the bull’s eye" of God’s will for your life, determine this day to appropriate God’s grace for your specific circumstance. Tell him you are very sorry for your past failures. Tell him that with his help, the help which he promised, you fully intend not to do the same thing again. Acclaim Jesus as your Lord, and believe that God the Father has raised him from the dead. And come to this altar today to receive the precious sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Revel in the fact that you are an adopted child of God the Father, a very sibling of Jesus Christ, and that now you live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Take this knowledge with you into the world. Your faith has made you whole. Go and sin no more. AMEN.
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