Christ Lutheran Church
Cleveland, Ohio
February 21, 2010
by: Rev. Dean Kavouras
Invocavit
As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great
endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings,
imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights and hunger… 2
Corinthians 6:4
If we were fans of drive-by theology we would reduce today’s readings,
the season of Lent, and the entire Christian life to one word on the
church sign, the word endurance.
We don’t much care for that word, though, because it implies trouble,
and we are so soft that a slow internet connection can send us into a
tailspin. Besides this the world’s catechism teaches us that we
deserve only good things, and more than a few ecclesiastical voices
confirm that false message, but Paul’s word still stands.
In common usage endurance means the bitter acceptance of things that
we cannot change. It is the frame of mind that folds its hands in
passive resignation as torrents of trouble sweep over it. It hunkers
down in the face of adversity, reaches for its favorite elixir, and
hopes the storm will soon pass, never understanding or benefitting
from any of it.
But when St. Paul speaks of endurance he means something very
different. He means the ability to bear all things in such a way as
to turn tragedy into triumph. St. John Chrysostom calls endurance:
the root of all goods, the fruit that never withers, a fortress that
is never taken, peace in war, calm in tempest and security in plots.
Endurance is the catalyst which turns tribulation into glory.
But please don’t confuse it with ‘positive thinking.’ In worldly tasks
there is a benefit to positive thinking and believing you can succeed.
But optimism is of no help when we face tests of Abrahamic
proportion, when the devil tempts us, or when the pressures of life
fly at us like they did at St. Paul.
Consider the things that Christians must endure and then judge for
yourself if human strength is adequate, or if it is only through
Christ that we can bear all things, and emerge victorious from them.
Abraham endured testing by God, and so must we all. But why does God
test us? Does He do it to learn what we are made of or to discover
how much we love Him? That’s not reasonable. God is omniscient. He
knows our thoughts before the think them and our words before we speak
them (Psalm 139). He doesn’t test us to satisfy His curiosity, but to
teach us how powerless we are without Him; to teach us to trust Him no
matter how perilous the path, and finally so that we might attain to
mature spiritual manhood and rise to the full stature of Christ (Eph.
4:13).
In any endeavor testing is necessary, it’s what makes a person
competent and confident. We might read about shooting a gun, but
until we do it it’s only a theory. We might study painting, but until
we complete a canvas it’s only a concept. We might think ourselves
very brave in the face of danger, but until we are actually tested we
can never be sure.
What was asked of Abraham was beyond the ken of human ability and ran
counter to every instinct, natural or theological. God has asked many
of us to do the same, to give up our loved ones, to lose control of
them for a time, but to trust without wavering in Him who is able to
raise the dead.
Abraham did not bury his head in the sand and run to the liquor
cabinet until the storm had passed, and neither should we. He had
seen too many impossible things happen where God was involved, and so
he didn’t stagger. Armed with heroic faith, the kind that the Holy
Spirit will give each of us when we need it, he endured the test,
received his son ‘back from the dead,’ and gave us the Old Testament’s
most distinct prophecy of what God would do for us in the fullness of
time (Gal. 4:4). It wasn’t Abraham who “so loved the world” but God.
And it wasn’t Abraham’s son that would be sacrificed on the wooden
altar but God’s, in order to save us from our sins and deliver us from
death and the devil.
But it’s not only testing that we must endure, but the temptation of
the devil as well. What happened to our Lord was as intense as it
gets, and the temptations that come to us are just as real, just as
distressing and if we fall for them, destructive in the extreme for us
and everyone we love.
Jesus didn’t look for a bush to hide behind until the temptation
passed and neither should we. Instead He confronted the ordeal head
on, steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work that His Father had
given Him to do. Far from destroying Him this temptation made Him
stronger so that there was nothing that He could not handle, even the
death of the Cross (Philippians 2:7).
We too can learn from Jesus to resist temptation, to pray, to have the
knowledge of Scripture as our weapon, and to be ready to deny
ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him wherever He leads.
Nor are testing and temptation the only thing we must endure, Paul
suffered all those and was hard pressed, besides, by the numerous
troubles associated with his unique ministry. In today’s epistle
lesson he mentions just a few: afflictions, hardships, calamities,
beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights and hunger,
but none of these dampened his spirit. Instead, the pressure cooker
of life formed him. It made him that much more dedicated, that much
more experienced, and that much more ready to handle the next
calamity. We all need Pauline endurance because life is not a dress
rehearsal and God calls each one of us, not to a life of
self-indulgence, but to serious and important work for Him.
But does adversity humble us and evoke faith, or does it make us hard
and cruel? Don’t answer the question, only repent. Lent is a season
of “spiritual re-hab” dedicated to repentance and renewal, but don’t
make the common error that many do about this season. It’s not about
us, our sacrifices, our tears, our emotions or our piety. But like
all of Scripture Lent is about God who gave us His Son, who provides
the Law and the Gospel, the Word and the Sacraments, the church and
the ministry, and who gives us the humility and faith to be saved and
to live a different life in Christ.
Whatever your track record has been is of no consequence because in
Christ there is no condemnation, He is the end of the Law for all who
believe (Romans 10:4). Every sin is pardoned, every weakness
forgotten, and every failure wiped out. And with remission come new
mercies every morning, so that with Christ we too might endure
testing, temptation and every trouble that comes our way, and emerge
with grace. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <MoM [at] lists (dot) cat41 <dot> org>
