How Long Can We Count On Grace?
Good Morning Friends,
Life is a one-way street and that makes the reading of today’s text difficult without the clarity of the Apostle Paul comments on the hope of the gifts of God’s grace in Christ being used for God’s glory in us. It is about who we believe God is and how our belief forms our actions and thoughts regarding work, success, and wealth. We rejoice in new mercies each day but know that eventually judgement will come. But, even though we are trying the best we can, How Long
Can We Count On Grace?
Scripture: As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.'” After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Luke 19:11-28 (NRSV)
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:1-7 (NRSV)
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 (NRSV)
Message: My reading of today’s scripture makes me believe we can count on grace because God is faithful and trustworthy but that being filled with the Spirit is not enough. We must work at being successful in the community of the faithful. We are to work, using our talents to glorify God, serve the common good, and further God’s kingdom. We must stay focused realizing that God gives us what we need to accomplish the tasks we have been assigned because we will be held accountable for following God’s purposes and not our own. Matthew’s gospel devotes two full chapters to the subject of the second coming of Christ. We can read Jesus’ words regarding his return in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. These stories are well known: the parable of the wise and foolish virgins; the parable of the sheep and the goats; and the parable of the talents told from the perspective of the Jews but available to us all. However, in our familiarity with these stories we might miss the importance of their setting. Each story is told in the context of his second coming. In this discourse, Matthew, a tax collector, gives solemn warnings about the last days. They will be perilous times. The stories in Luke, however are told more from the ordered perspective of the Gentiles. These stories we have been reading recently include the healing of the blind man and conversion of the crooked tax collector, Zacchaeus and then a variation of the talents parable told in Jericho. The setting is before Christ’s entry into Jerusalem ultimately for the Passion. Jesus prepares his followers for what is to come both in the short term and the long term for both these types of last days will be filled with danger and woe. Paul helps us to digest this and respond in a way that glorifies God.
Pray we stop hiding our spiritual gifts and fruits. Pray that God pity us for we are pathetic sinners. Pray we realize that worshipping alone is not the end game. Pray we realize that we have been given tasks to do that need our spiritual gifts perhaps more so than our natural abilities. Pray we realize that we are not all created equal and so need each other. Pray we are thankful for the challenges of life and the spiritual resources provided by God to help us to deal with them. Pray we keep our eyes on the goal and persevere in the faith. Pray that in the reading of scripture one insight begets other insights. Pray we not put our purposes above God’s purposes.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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