Trinity 6 (1168)
Our Church Calender continues to lead us
along this path called faith.
During the first half of the year
we focused upon mysteries and major events
which lay the foundation of our faith,
The Incarnation, The Death, Resurrection,
Our Lords Ascension, and the Sending of the Holy Ghost.
And recently
we have spoken of sin,
affect others as well as our own salvation.
Just last week we spoke of endurance
in which, even when we fail,
we are to try and try again
(remember those poor fishermen
their nets again thrown in the water,
at the direction of Jesus…
(eventhough they had tried over and over just hours before.)
A few weeks back,
scripture spoke of the beam in our own eye,
that must be removed, correcting ourselves, in order to see plainly,
and assisting others in their walk along this path.
And now this morning, it is stressed,
that we must live a righteous and godly life - if we are to live.
The foundation of our faith
is the The Word,
and this Word of faith must be planted deep within our hearts.
For we “are the temple” of God:
1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us - the Spirit of God dwelleth in us
Of which Jesus was accused of making a temple
“without hands” Mark 14:58.
We just prayed:
“Pour into our hearts
such love toward thee,
that we, loving thee above all things,
may obtain thy promises,
which exceed all that we can desire…;
Loving thee above all things:
Now, this can be a hard thing to do,
(think of Abraham, obeying God's words,
and Isaac’s trip
up the mountain - talk about difficult!)
Jesus even mentions this difficulty in Mathew 10:37
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:
and he that loveth son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me.
Both of these examples painfully tell us
that God must be above all else.
Jesus is not telling us to break the 5th commandment
of Honouring ones father and mother,
but he is telling us
that even though you are to love and honor Father and Mother,
We must love Him
EVEN MORE!
So Today - the message is clear:
we must seek, and love, God above all else.
Baptism mentioned in Romans 6 is so important
as it reminds of our obligation to Him.
Baptism, instituted by Christ, ties us to the earliest of times as it
reflects upon the importance of the water
even its role in the Exodus itself.
And the washing with water was used as initiation
and was symbolic, even to the Eccenes in the days of Jesus,
according to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And it is through Baptism that we can enter into the KIngdom of God.
This washing with water is our path,
our initiation
into Chirst Universal Church,
where the devil and all of his works die,
As the new Christian baptised is released from sin,
A resurrection of that goodness
for which we were made is restored.
And now, it is within His Church that we are taught to:
“walk in the newness of life.”
It is through this newness of life that He gives us, via the Holy Spirit,
that we learn to take on this goodness
of God into our lives,
“our old man is crucified with Christ,
“that the body of sin” might be destroyed,
not just defeated, but destroyed.
Christ tells us to “sin no more”
He does not tell us
we can sin a little -
NO, sin must be destroyed within our lives.
God seeks no peace treaty with sin,
but its total destruction.
God himself speaks of the crushing of the head,
God seeks an end of the disease
that has infected all His Creation.
This will be accomplished only when
our desires and our love for God
are placed above, the things of this sinful world.
It is through this new life in Christ, that we become
dead unto sin,
but alive unto God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Does not this sound wonderful and peaceful?
However; Christ insists
that our righteousness
must become above
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
For they had failed in their righteousness
by placing their power and authority above God’s,
Demonstrating an anger, a hostility, to his word
by adding and distorting the laws that God had given to them.
We are warned of a human trait that is alive, still present.
That condition is anger itself.
An emotion, so easily triggered;
And if and when triggered
without a cause,
will be used in judgement against us.
Anger, without any intent of a positive effect;
is an anger
that is sinful.
But even Anger without any just cause,
as when we are angry
for that which could not be helped,
simple forgetfulness or a mistake,
which we would not judge against ourselves.
Groundless Anger is not
of which we are speaking,
like when your husband buys the wrong kind of milk at the grocery store.
But Anger that is without any desiring of a positive ending;
used often to show authority,
or gratifying a brutish passion within,
Often exciting ourselves to revenge,
This is vain.
And this is dangerous to our salvation.
In The Gospel,of St. Matthew, JESUS tells us this anger
must be controlled
for whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgment:
So we are to
reconcile with thy brother.
Forgiving brings peace and comfort to ones soul!
This is why we should not receive the Body and Blood of Christ
with an anger without a cause.
the Eucharist is a feast of Thanksgiving,
thus it should be received in peace.
If we live in anger, then we will be judged in the same
Instead of being judged by Love itself (by God),
we may be turned over in the anger in which we had lived
TO A JUDGE:
That does not forgive:
,,, cast into prison…
Thou shalt by no means come out thence,
till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. (the ultimate price)
This morning we thank God
that our price has already been paid
once, for all sinners who are True Christians.
And, just who are they??
Jesus says Jhn 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Thus the words from Proverbs 4 rings so ever true to us today:
Let thine heart retain
my words: keep my commandments, and live.
God wants you to Live, and you only truly live by being in Him,
IN HIM - There you will find Real Life,
which you have received in baptism.
God Loves you and has prepared a place for you
Jhn 14:2
In my Father's house
are many mansions:
if it were not so,
I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
So let us put Sin, anxiety, and anger behind us, for He awaits us.
Be His People, and He will be your God!