Episode 19: 1/23/09

Readings:

Psalm 35
Isaiah 50:1-11
Ephesians 6:1-9
Mark 4:35-41

Sermon:

“But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
The Epistle to the Philippians, Chapter 4, Verses 18 and 19

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

How do we view God?

He watched in quiet wonder, his eyes wide with marvel as he saw them lay their hands on the heads of people. Having come to Samaria only a short time before, he had quickly worked his magic on the citizens, conjuring the powers of demons and darkness that it might come to surround them, engulf them, bewitching them through his wickedness.

Without a doubt, he was a powerful sorcerer, the likes the people of Samaria had never seen before. But then would come these men, these wanderers, perhaps a bit dirty and ragged in their appearances as they came from seemingly nowhere. To have seen them for the first time there were perhaps not that impressive, especially to a man who would go from place to place using his works of evil to ensnare those around him. A man holding such power and lacking such conscience, he had probably, through his magic accumulated wealth, and looked the part, what threat then could a few drifters pose to him?

Chances are that he paid them no mind or consideration…

Then… then though, they would give him much to worry about. In a moment, as these Apostles laid their hands on the people the power of the Holy Spirit would work through them, casting aside the powers of Simon as if it had been nothing at all. Without a doubt, he had never seen anything quite like it before.

The thoughts began to swirl around his head. What is this great and powerful magic that these men work? What could be that could put mine to such shame? Imagine all that I could do with this power if only I held it within my grasp. The world, it could be mine and all of those in it would bow before me.

Above all other desires, this is what he wanted, this is what he needed.

Coming to Peter he would ask the he would give unto him these powers, not for free of course, but purchased with gold and silver, that he too would be able to work the miracles of the Holy Spirit. There… there the Apostles rebuke would be a hard, harsh one, delivered to the Sorcerer, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 25:20-23)

“Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.”

It’s perhaps a bit hard for us to imagine the story of Simon or how the admonition of St. Peter is relevant within our lives. None of us are quite so bold or foolish to believe that the gifts of God or the power of the Holy Spirit, is something that we can purchase or buy, as if going to the super market and going down the religion aisle, we could pick up a case of it. Unlike Simon, we don’t quite believe that we can meet a guy on the street corner, thinking that perhaps we could buy a bag of God’s gifts and suddenly we hold a power that is greater than those around us have ever seen. We know it’s not just a magic in a box set we can purchase for our kid’s birthday.

But still, does that mean that we see the power of God and His gifts rightly?

It’s an easy trap for us to fall into to somehow believe that we can buy our way into God’s graces. We read passages in the Bible that tell us, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9 and 10) or “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye met withal it shall be measured to you again” (John 6:38) or even our sermon text today and we take it to mean something completely different that what had been intended for us. We start to think that if we give this or we give that or we do this or we do that, then suddenly God’s grace for us will unfold immeasurably more, and we start to expect things from God, wealth or power or possessions, because, after all, He promised it to us.

But what we learn in our sermon text and through the power of the story in Acts of Simon the Sorcerer, is something completely different altogether. God’s gifts come only to those who have faith and who give sincerely of themselves with no expectations, with no requirements or pre-requisites, they come to those who give of themselves believing that it is right to do, that it is what God has asked them to do out of a love of Him and their fellow man, never thinking of any returns that may come to them.

There, when that is our motive, not of earthly gain, but heavenly service, there is a purity in our hearts that is well pleasing to God.

Ours cannot be to see God as a genie in a lamp that we have purchased from some easy trade, to be rubbed that He might grant our wishes for us, or to see the power of His Holy Spirit as something that we can just buy, watching as easy wealth comes to us for it. It must be to see Him rightly for that which He is, a loving God of tender mercies who gives and grants according to His divine plans for our lives that we might be able to carry out His will to preach and teach the Gospel Message of His Son, Christ Jesus unto all nations, to live our lives in the richest of testimonies to the power of that salvation through our Redeemer that brings such powerful redemption into our lives.

There God does not give to us because He has to or because, for some reason, He is bound to or required to. Rather He does so out of His great love for us. A love that was made whole and perfect in the life, sacrifice, and death that precious Lamb of God whose was the beacon of enlightenment unto this world, making way the path that leads on high and bringing the power of the Spirit once more into this world that all those dark, hidden places of the soul could find the light, the warm, glowing light of God, once more shining upon them.

This… this must be how we view God that we might see Him rightly.

Lord, grant this unto us all.

Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.