Trinity XIII- Luke 10:25-29

The Gospel for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity is from Luke 10: 23- 37 and includes the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable is certainly an important example and an encouragement to compassion and true neighborliness, but this time, I would like to focus more on the context for the parable in Luke 10: 25-29, "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?"

This context shows us the difference between Jesus and His legalistic opponents. Jesus honors the Jewish Law and its chief principles and intentions. Jesus and the lawyer agree on the two great commandments- love God and love neighbor. However, there is a great difference in the attitudes of Jesus and the lawyer. Jesus sees the Law as a helpful guide to worshipping God and caring for other people. The lawyer focuses on the details of rule-keeping. He views the commandments as a checklist for self-congratulation and self-justification. Perhaps, he hopes that Jesus will praise him and say that he has done enough, or perhaps, he imagines that Jesus will just add some little rule to what the lawyer is already doing. Instead, Jesus tells a parable that shows good attitudes and actions may be found even among people who don't follow all the rules perfectly (Samaritans).

Unfortunately, Christians have often been like the lawyer in this account. We know basic commandments, and we might be able to check off some rules we have followed. But all too often, we try to justify ourselves without looking at our attitudes or at new opportunities to show mercy. Even doing charitable deeds has often been transformed into another sort of self-justifying legalism. So let us remain on guard about our motives and attitudes. Let us honor the principles of divine Law, and through divine grace, let us humbly seek to apply those principles with sincerity and compassion.

Trinity XII- Letter and Spirit- II Corinthians 3

 In the Epistle for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity from II Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul speaks of the ministry of Christians.  In  II Cor. 3:6, he says that we are "ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." These words remain important for the Christian life, but they have often been misunderstood or interpreted in extreme or chaotic ways. 

The letter of the commandments had and continues to have value, The letter shows divine standards, points out human failures, and gives general guidance, but the letter of the law condemns sin. The letter does not give life. External rules are necessary in this world, but they do not save. Only the spirit brings life. The new testament, the message of Jesus Christ, goes beyond the external rules to the internal spiritual level. It brings life-giving power, guidance, and forgiveness. The spirituality of the gospel transforms the letter; it helps us move beyond literalism and legalism into sincere and loving service for the Lord.

Trinity XI- Creedal Christianity- I Corinthian 15: 1-11

Both the Epistle and the Gospel for this Eleventh Sunday after Trinity are powerful passages in differing ways. We always need to be reminded of the message in the Gospel from St. Luke 18:9-14. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus reminds us of the proper human attitude in prayer and in life. All are sinners in some respect, and all of us need to turn to God's mercy in humble repentance and faith, not in pride, self-righteousness, or self-justification.

As important as today's Gospel is, this time, I would emphasize the Epistle from I Corinthians 15:1-11. These verses constitute one of several New Testament passages which have been characterized as early Christian creeds. Here St. Paul emphasizes the core message preached by all the apostles. Jesus Christ really suffered, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He was seen alive by many witnesses. Christ our Lord did these things to save those who believe in Him from sin and to offer them new and eternal life.

In I Corinthians 15:1, Paul calls this core Christian message the gospel or the good news, to evangelion. Later in 15:11, he uses the verb kerysso, which means proclaim or preach. This message derived from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ is shared by the whole apostolic Church. It has specific content about Christ and His redeeming work. Although a person's attitude, thoughts, and feelings about the message are personally important, the message itself claims to be objectively true. Christians are expected to profess and really believe these teachings or doctrines. In other words, from the beginning, Christianity is by nature a creedal religion.

As time went on the ancient Church faced various challenges to biblical beliefs. These challenges led to the formulation of early baptismal creeds affirmed by those being baptized and by their Christian sponsors. The core of these creeds affirmed beliefs about Christ such as those found in I Corinthians 15. These creeds were not contrary to Scripture; rather they summarized and defended biblical faith. In different forms, two ancient baptismal creeds have come down to the Church through the centuries. One is the Apostles' Creed which developed from simple baptismal affirmations in the Western or Latin church. The other is the Nicene Creed which took Eastern or Greek baptismal creeds and added phrases to clarify true Christian beliefs in light of fourth-century un-biblical challenges. Later, a third creed, the so-called Athanasian Creed, was accepted in the Western Church as a longer statement defending the doctrine of the Trinity. Although theologically important, its use in popular Christian worship and instruction has been less frequent.

These three ancient and ecumenical/catholic creeds reflect Scripture and have become basic expressions of Christian doctrine. It is absurd for someone to claim that he/she has no creed but the Bible. Every person and every congregation has some kind of creed, explicit or implicit. Each of us may have our private summaries or paraphrases, but we are on much sounder ground to acknowledge and affirm the ancient Creeds. They reflect Scripture, apostolic preaching, and the wisdom of generations of faithful Christians. Ignoring or rejecting them is at best stubborn pride and at worst unbelief or heresy. May God guide us in His truth!

Trinity X- Luke 19: 41-47

The Gospel for Sunday is from Luke 19:41-47. In particular, Luke 19:41 says, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it…” In the first century, Jerusalem was so corrupt that our Lord wept over it/ It did not live up to its calling to be a truly holy city, and it chose the path that led to its destruction. 

Of course, no human city ever has been or will be completely pure. Sin is always present in this world, and various forms of moral, social, and political corruption will resist God's higher purposes till the end of the age. Nevertheless, there are degrees of corruption, and we live in times when the cities of what used to be called Christendom have become more corrupt than usual. Many of our leaders and institutions go beyond particular human failings and actually promote anti-Christian values. Such corruption even permeates many religious institutions.

Such turning from divine purposes has gone beyond the big cities to the small towns and villages. Local elites and many religious leaders seem more concerned about social and political "correctness" than about Biblical principles of belief and behavior. So surely Christ must weep over our cities, towns, communities, and congregations. We are in a sad predicament.

Yet, even as Christ weeps over us, He also prays for us and keeps working for our salvation. So let us turn to Him and repent of our own failings. Let us seek Christ's guidance, pray for those around us, and do our small parts to live in the ways God wants. No matter how corrupt a society and its institutions become, there is always hope for a faithful remnant.