Seventh Sunday After Pentecost (B) 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Theme: Sufficient Grace


Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

God is gracious. If it were not so the Scriptures would be liable of perjury. Yet, people often find the evidence for God’s mercy lacking. Evil and its associated consequences-pain, suffering, separation, sorrow, envy, greed, cold-heartedness- all are undeniably prevalent in our lives and our communities. But, you see, the consequences of sin serve an important purpose in our lives. Hence, the words of the Saviour, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”1 Those were the words of the Lord Jesus to St. Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, the greatest persecutor of Christianity who become its staunchest defender. They were made in response to Paul’s plea that his thorn in the flesh be removed. So painful was this thorn that Paul refers to it as “a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”2 Still, Paul recognized it as a necessary evil to facilitate his humility.

Paul was permitted to witness, exceptional, celestial, otherworldly, divine things. Few others were similarly privileged, though there are a number of notable examples. St. John records his heavenly observations in the Book of Revelation. Others too, had extraordinary experiences including Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Elijah and Elisha had long and amazing ministries. Peter, James, and John were privy to Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain, just to name a few. The Holy Spirit has caused these to be recorded in the Holy Scriptures for our benefit. After all, the unhindered experience of God’s presence- a familiarity no longer tainted by sin- is what we look forward to in eternity.

St. Paul says he “was caught up to paradise”3 and he is absolutely bursting with desire to communicate these holy mysteries. Yet, what does he then say, “I will refrain, so no one will think more of me than what is warranted by what I do or say.”4 No, he will not go on incessantly. He will let people judge for themselves. Some already thought he was a fanatic. He would let the Holy Spirit see to the rest. Paul was mimicking the ministry of the prophets and Christ Himself. Jesus was a prophet without honour in His hometown, as we heard in the gospel account. Self-assertion does not does not easily garner genuine respect. Self-promotion might get you noticed but it doesn’t mean people will be inclined to trust your judgment. When it comes to giving witness to divine truth no amount embellishment or cosmetic enhancement will prove durable. No sophisticated elucidations will win the heart. The promises of God stand or fall on their own merits.

Paul prayed three times to the Lord that his affliction might be removed. Yet the Lord did not comply, sending instead His attending grace that His power might be made known in weakness. Here, then is the blueprint for how we understand this vexing matter of sin’s consequences in our lives. The Lutheran confessions offer this clarification, “Troubles are not always punishments or signs of wrath. Indeed, terrified consciences should be taught that there are more important purposes for afflictions, so they do not think God is rejecting them when they see nothing but God’s punishment and anger in troubles. The other more important purposes are to be considered, that is, that God is doing His strange work so that He may be able to do His own work…troubles are not always punishments for certain past deeds, but they are God’s works, intended for our benefit, and that God’s power might be made more apparent in our weakness...”5

This so-called strange work of God is His word of censure which is intended to drive stubborn and selfish hearts to repentance. God’s holy law must condemn us before His gospel can truly comfort us. If these two intentions of God are not rightly distinguished, then we’re constantly at risk of being trapped in a hopeless cycle of trying to earn something that can only be received as a gift. Satan is forever seeking to twist the application of the law- God’s good and gracious will- and turn it into legalism. Vulnerable consciences become immediately burdened, while arrogant souls become quickly emboldened, when the law is no longer understood as revealing God’s wholesome parameters for our lives, but rather as threshold mortals must meet to gain His favour. We all fall short of His glory.

Dear friends, we can never outmaneuver the Holy Spirit in any efforts to justify our failure to keep the law. We can’t even outwit the devil, no matter how cunning or practiced we are. His experience far exceeds anything we can relate to. A man had serious legal issue he needed expert counsel on. He rang a renowned lawyer. Knowing the lawyer would charge exorbitant fees he began by saying, “Can I just ask you two questions?’ The lawyer responded, “Of course. What’s the second question?” The man was both intimidated, knowing that he had no hope of matching the lawyer’s shrewdness, but also pleased, knowing he had asked the right person for advice.

The perfection God’s holiness demands was exacted from Christ. He freely credits it to us. Therefore, the power, the presence, and the purpose of the cross governs our worldview and the meaning of life. No wonder the apostle said to the Corinthians, “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”6 Christ has made the sacrifice and we share in His victory over sin, death, and Satan’s power. Hell’s fury has been nullified. These truths have real consequences for our lives.

The gospel does not free us to live independently from God’s will- and His presence among us through word and sacrament. The gospel makes us more reliant on Christ; not as a matter of coercion but as a matter of desire. Just as small children are reliant on their parents and feel secure in their presence, believers desire the blessings and governance of God. The gospel frees us from the bondage of sin- not that we are no longer sinners, but we need neither fear condemnation, nor do we have the stress of appeasement. We cannot conciliate the just anger of God against sin. Striving to do so betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the work of Christ and God’s disposition towards us. The gospel frees us to follow His will without fear of condemnation. The apostle writes, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”7

Life will never be free from afflictions. Yes, it might run along quite smoothly during certain stretches. Other times we will find ourselves stumbling. And, more often than we’d like, we might need to be carried because we have no capacity to go forward on our own. God never forsakes us. No burden is too heavy. No concern is too trivial. We live in a world polluted by sin, and our own sinful natures are drawn to such pollution like steel to a magnet. But the Spirit bathes us in baptismal water, pardons us with the words of absolution, and feeds us with the body and blood of the only-begotten Son of God. He lifts our vision from the myopathy of the here and now, allowing us to see beyond the temporal to the unshakeable, eternal kingdom He has prepared for us.

It is not always easy- even for faithful Christians- to maintain an eternal perspective. Consider what St. Paul sys in Colossians 3, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”8 Christ died and rose again. He did it for you and your salvation. You are baptized into this death and resurrection. You are forgiven. You are freed. His grace is sufficient for you. In the moment of need, His grace is sufficient. In the time of trial, His grace is sufficient. At the hour of death, His grace is sufficient. One day, like Paul, we will experience “inexpressible things.”9 May the almighty Father, through the presence of His Son and in the affection of His Spirit sustain us through this earthly pilgrimage until we reach that heavenly goal. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
8 July 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 2 Corinthians 12:9 2 2 Corinthians 12:7
3 2 Corinthians 12:4 4 2 Corinthians 12:6
5 AP VIIIB 6 1 Corinthians 2:2
7 Galatians 5:13 8 Colossians 3:1-4
92 Corinthians 12:4