The First Sunday after Easter.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY Father, who hast given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification; Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve thee in pureness of living and truth; through the merits of the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today’s Epistle came from the First General Epistle of Saint John, the Fifth Chapter beginning at the Fourth Verse:
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HATSOEVER is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
The Holy Gospel for this Sunday comes from the Twentieth Chapter of the Gospel of Saint John beginning at the Nineteenth verse:
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HE same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Church of the Faithful Centurion
Descanso, California
Today’s sermon brought the Collect, Epistle and Gospel together and is partly contained in the forewords above.
Consider these words from the Collect:
… given thine only Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our justification; Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve thee in pureness of living and truth…
In the Collect, we acknowledge by the sacrifice made on Good Friday by the One and Only Perfect Man, a single sacrifice, made one time, for all mankind, for all time by our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ of God, we have eternal life. Malice and wickedness are pervasive; like leavening, that is yeast, mixed into bread dough, they permeate our being, worming their way into the most remote corners of our souls, hearts and minds. Tiny, wanting only to be fed so they can grow and distort our being. We need God’s Help, in the form of the Holy Ghost, to root out all malice and wickedness so we might serve Him with pure souls, hearts and minds. Without that help, we are destined to fail. On the other hand, with God’s help all things are possible.
In his general Epistle, Saint John continues that thought that without God’s help, that is being re-born in Him, as Saint Paul says becoming or putting on the New Man, we are destined to failure. He points out that if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we will have overcome the world. He also says that those who do not believe on Him are lying to themselves.
Saint John makes it clear the entity we refer to as God is a Triune Being, that is Three in One; Father, Son and Holy Ghost. What he does not make clear is the relationship between the Three. All we need to know is that God is comprised of three separate entities who are of one substance and form a single entity. Besides God and Jesus, the Holy Ghost is an important member of this entity. He is here to help give us God’s guidance and direction and understanding God’s will for us.
The Holy Ghost is not often talked about in the church, yet He is the key to understanding. God sent us the Holy Ghost that we might have:
· Comfort
· Understanding
· Patience
· Insight
· Perseverance
· Courage
· Sympathy
He is our key to finding Jesus in our souls, hearts and minds. Without His Guidance, Scripture seems a poorly written fairy tale, with His Guidance we find Truth, the Truth that is our Lord and Savior.
When John relates the story of Jesus coming in to the Upper Room, note three things:
· He came into a closed room in bodily form;
· Then gave them His Peace;
· He breathed the Holy Ghost upon them.
The entry into the closed room is of interest. When we leave the Shadowlands, we will gain an optimized body with shape and form, but as Jesus demonstrated things are different in the Real World. Different can be better or worse. In this case, He demonstrates the better. We will no longer be halt, blind and maimed, we will live as God has meant for us. Quite a nice feeling.
Jesus gave them His Peace. Not peace like world understands it, but God’s Peace. This is a totally different concept. A perfect and stabilizing peace, not what the World considers as Peace. The world and God have different idea of what is Peace. The only Peace that would help the world is God’s Peace. His Peace is what will really help us. Jesus brings us, like those disciples, the peace of mind and soul which comes with giving all our worry, sadness and terror to Him. He leaves in His wake not confusion, but order and wellbeing. With Him in our hearts we cannot fail at anything that needs be done. His Peace. This Peace is what we are looking for and have been looking for since we came into this world, for it is our passport out.
The Holy Ghost is the breath of life, not just physical, whereas to die is to give up the Ghost, which really means to have our soul leave our body for heaven. He is our spiritual life, for without Him in our souls, hearts and minds we cannot see the narrow road to the summit. Without Him we see only the broad even way which gently curves downward and gets smoother and smoother as it nears the Pit. The Holy Ghost is the key to knowing our Lord! He is our perfect vision in place of our defective natural vision, that will help us see the way.
Without the Holy Ghost, we are lost. With Him we find and join Jesus and are found. Then we can act accordingly and enjoy our time here on earth to the extent it is to be enjoyed.
Note the parting line of this Scripture: … He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained. Jesus gave this power to those present, He did not establish an intermediary priesthood. The Triune God is the only one who has the power to remit us of our sins. And, He does when we ask and act in accordance with the request.
There is much joy and satisfaction to be found in proper action.
When the time comes, how will you ACT?
It is by our actions we are known.
Be of God - Live of God - Act of God
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