Episode 47: 6/10/09

Readings:

Psalm 13
Ruth 2:14-23
1 Timothy 3:1-16
Luke 13:18-30

Sermon:

“And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
Luke 13:22-24

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

He would come to save all of fallen humanity. He would suffer humiliation, affliction, torture and torment, living and dying for the sake of all of our sins, all of our transgressions and iniquities, making us pure and holy, redeemed and righteous in the eyes of the Lord God Almighty. After all “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Yet, despite the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, despite his all encompassing sacrifice, despite the fact that he would come for the salvation of all, not all will stand before the throne in the last days and be judged as clean, washed in the precious blood of the lamb. It is, as we read in our Gospel text today, a narrow door, a strait gate, to which, in those final days of that resurrection, many will try to enter into and not all will be able to.

Why though? Why, if God is a God of love and compassion and mercy, and Christ, a savior for all of humanity, would some not pass through that door or enter in through that gate to the Holy City of Heaven, forever present in the sight of our Lord?

And here we find the truth of the Lord, it is only by compassion, by love, and by mercy that we are saved. In the story that Christ tells we hear of those who know his name, those who he has dined with and ate with and yet, who he does not recognize, those he looks upon like he is seeing them for the first time. Why? Simply put because, despite the fact that they know his name, they did not abide in grace or in faith.

In St. Paul’s letter to the believers in Ephesus he tells unto the faithful “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8 and 9)

It is solely by the grace of God that we are saved through faith, it is a gift that is bestowed upon us by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To know the name of Christ or to believe that there is a God in heaven, just simply isn’t enough, after all “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19)

No, it is true and faithful to understand that to be one of those recognized by God, as a redeemed Child of our Heavenly Father, is to not only know the name of Christ but to dwell in it, and to be encompassed by the power of the Holy Spirit, living according to God’s will and God’s desire in our lives. To be recognized by the Lord in those final days is to recognize the Lord in all the days of your life and to hear his calling for you, to abide in it and to know it through all things. It is to produce the fruits of the Spirit, joy, peace, love, compassion, longsuffering, patience, and kindness and to use these gifts to edify, nourish and nurture the body of believers that God’s great love may shine through your life and through your testimony.

We are taught in the Word of the Lord that, as we are saved, we are grafted to the tree of life. On that tree we produce the fruit of the vine. Yet amidst that image we are also given a somber and a sober look as well, “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.” (Romans 11:16-18)

Faith… our faith in God, our faith that teaches us to be imitators of Christ, our faith that produces the richest fruits of the Spirit… it must live in all of us, hearing the call of our Savior to love our fellow man, to magnify the compassion that was shown unto us, to do the work of the Lord amidst the fields of this earth that we may sow the seeds of faith to make ready the harvest of the Holy Spirit. We must live in the commands of the Lord, abiding not as the hypocrites do, in bitterness, anger and judgment towards our fellow man, but instead using all that we have, all that we have been given and all that we are to uplift and to sanctify our brothers and sisters that they may see the light of faith and be guided down the road to redemption to those gates of salvation, passing through the door into the Kingdom of God.

Our light and our lives must be given in testimony to the greatest of sacrifices, to the greatest of loves, that we are not just a candle whose flame flickers in the wind but rather so that we are beacon of hope and courage given strength by the power of the Lord to guide amidst the murky waters and the rocky shores of this world that all may be guided to the safety of our Heavenly Father’s loving breast, held tight there. Our light and our lives must be given to that Great Commission given unto us by the Savior before his ascension that we may “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19 and 20) That all may know that they are saved by the power of Christ.

It is then that we know that we will have eaten well of the feast of the Lord and drank well from that Spring of Living Water, knowing that it has given life to our spirit and rejuvenated our souls. It is there that when we enter through the gates of the Kingdom to the mansion of our Heavenly Father we know that we will be recognized among the ranks of the saints that have come and gone before us, robed in clothes of white, made pure and holy in the presence of the Lord, singing our praises to His Holy Name throughout all ages, in all places, according to His great love for all of us.

Live in service… live in service to God and in service to your fellow man, as Christ first showed us, letting your faith guide your way through all things and in all things. Live your life according to God’s will and His plan for you. Show a deep and abiding love to your fellow man, pray for the needy, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, be the strength of the weak, and offer yourself to the sick, struggle for the captivity of the slave and the hostage, and be of good courage throughout all of the trials and the challenges in this world, magnifying the love of Christ in your life, and submitting yourself to the tender precepts of the Lord, turning your ambition to him that, by the power of the Spirit, all things great and small for the betterment of lost humanity will be possible in the new man born in your spirit. It is a trust that will never fail you or forsake, a trust for the faithful whose eyes shall behold the Lord in all of His glory in those final days when all of his beloved children are drawn close to Him, made whole in the righteousness of our Savior.

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.