FROM OUR BRETHREN... A CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION THAT IS IN UNION WITH US IN OPPOSING THE FALLACIES OF THE RH/RP "LAW": “God’s People Share Resurrection Life”

“God’s People Share Resurrection Life”

June 9, 2013

 

The 3rd Sunday of the Christian Season of Ordinary Time/Kingdomtide/Time of the Church

 

1 Kings 17: 17 – 24/Psalm 30/Galatians 1: 11 – 24/Luke 7: 11 - 17

His Eminence

The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.

 

Archbishop of Manila

and 

Primate 

of the 

National Church in the Philippines 

and 

the Territorial Church of Asia

International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church

In the calendar year of the Church, we are just a few weeks past Easter.  Easter is a major spiritual event on behalf of all mankind, the fact that our Lord took upon Himself the sin, the iniquity of all men.  He gave His life a sacrifice to redeem us, to pay the penalty of our failure, of our sin, and to bring to us new life.  But more than that, upon the time of His death, He descended into hell and He destroyed the very power of evil so that evil no longer rule or reign in dominion. 

Christ has given to us that new life.  If that is not enough, fifty days after that Easter, He  sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within us; to fill us so the enemy cannot come back again and reign;  to give us the guidance, the strength, the wisdom,  the counsel and the comfort we need. He shares with us that which strengthens and empowers us to live out the life He has given to us. 

Now, the early church fathers have set the lectionary in such a manner that we are reminded today of Christ’s power over death, that He conquered death.  The stories we have all occurred before the Easter resurrection.  It showed even at that time the power of God and the power of Christ over the results of sin, death.   He reminds us, as we enter Kingdomtide, that we have been resurrected from the state of death into eternal life.  We have been delivered out of the darkness into His marvelous light. 

This is something that in our minds, we must prepare ourselves to believe in, to have faith in rather than seeing the situations around us as those which are part of life. In reality, perhaps, we have to say that they are not life.   Adam disobeyed God. He denied God’s instructions.  He ate the fruit of the forbidden tree.  God said to him prior to this in instruction, “The day that you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will die.” 

The terminology ‘death’ has several meanings.  Most of the time, when we talk about death, we think of the fatality of the end of life.   When God spoke to Adam and what happened to Adam was not the end of physical life.  His physical life went on, but the very essence of what he was died.  It no longer could quicken his mortal flesh.  It could no longer come out of him and change nature and cause nature to be beneficial. 

Adam was removed from the Garden of Eden.  One translation calls it “The Garden of Pleasure.”  He was sent out then into the world to struggle, to battle, to face issues because of his disobedience. The soil, the sun, the lack of water, so many things came because that essence of that was within him had come to a point where it was no longer affecting his mortal being. 

We know the battle between his sons, the death – the first murder.  Such a sad state and such a dark point of history that continue to increase to such a point of time that God flooded the earth because man had become so evil.  Death was ruling and reigning.  There was still an opportunity if man would choose. There was still an opportunity to avoid it.  Noah did; he survived. 

God, in His great mercy, brought to us hope.  A term that I saw in Scriptures is a term that really just quickened me.  The terminology that was used:   sons of the Resurrection.   Can we comprehend what that means?  It is that life that now is back within us because of the Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit will quicken us because of the Resurrection; because Christ conquered death; because He overcame the forces of evil.  Now, that life of the Resurrection, being within us, brings to us a hope.  If only we would believe, we can conquer and be what God intends us to be. 

1Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” We see in the readings today how that even in the Old Testament, death was still subject to God. It was not totally out of control.  It was man not understanding and man not having the assurance, the faith in God that allowed it come to the point that it did. But Elijah raised the dead.  Christ, in the gospel, raised the young man from the coffer.  He spoke to him, “Awake!”  Just the voice just speaking caused death to flee.  Lazarus, dead for several days, was brought forth. 

I believe these are symbols of what God has given to us. The fullness of that is yet to come.  We are not there yet, but the fullness has a future for us.  Isaiah 25:8-9 says, “He will swallow up death for all time. He will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth…let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” This is Old Testament prophecy.  Are we rejoicing in our salvation?  Are lifting our voices in praise?  Are we bringing back the thanks that belong to God?  Do we give Him that place of honor in our lives?  Do we esteem Him mightily?  Do we bring into our own hearts and minds that which speak to us that we have conquered because of Him?  We are not just wallowing in the mud, but He has lifted us up and brought us into new life. 

A prophecy in Ezekiel 37 says that the valley of dry bones came together and the breath of the air came and the bones became life, an army of believers.  All of these things are speaking to us.   They are there to encourage us and to let us know that the despair does not belong to us.  The anxiety is not ours.  We have been given hope in Christ.  Even if things seem to be wrong at the moment, don’t give up because God has the ability to turn all things to good. 

John 5:24, “We have passed out of death into life.” Do we comprehend this?  Do we understand –our minds cleansed and renewed as it tells us in Romans 12?  Have we renewed our minds to what God has given to us? To what belongs to us? 

In Galatians 1, we have the story of the conversion of Saul, now called Paul.   After being on the road to Damascus, he was blinded and God spoke to him, setting him aside.  Paul tells us that he was chosen by God to know and for God to reveal Christ to him.  After his experience, when his sight came back to him, when he made the choice to follow Christ, Paul tells us in his writing to the church in Galatia, “I did not go to the side of men for them to teach me.  I did not hurry off to Jerusalem so that they could bless me and give me instructions. I went to Arabia, to the desert. I went there and I let God teach me. I let him reveal Christ to me.” 

Remember that we were told by Christ that He would send the Holy Spirit to us.  When the Holy Spirit would come, we would not need teachers anymore because the Holy Spirit would teach us everything.   Paul took advantage of this.   He let God speak to him.  We don’t know how long he was in Arabia.  The Scriptures does not tell us.  Some Bible scholars said that he was there for nine years.  I can’t find any actual reference to that but he was there for a period of time. 

Paul left there and went back to Damascus and spent three years in Damascus before he went to Jerusalem to talk to the Church leaders.  He gave God time to speak to him.  He set aside everything so that God could minister to him. 

Perhaps, our weakness today is the fact that we don’t give time to God to let Him speak to us.    We are too busy in our business.  We are too busy in our recreation and other things to give God the time to unveil Himself into our hearts, separating ourselves away from everything, and letting Him speak to us.   Isn’t it any wonder that we are weak?  Isn’t it any wonder we are wavering?  Isn’t it any wonder that we give up at times?   This is because we have not really got a revelation from God. 

When Paul got that revelation, nothing could stop him.  He was warned that he was going to be arrested.  He was going to be put in jail.  All these things were happening to him, but he did not care because he knew his God; he knew the power of his God; and he understood the purpose of his life. Do we? 

We are reminded today of the Resurrection and the Resurrection life.  Remember these terms:  sons of the Resurrection.  It is our life today.  We have been freed from the darkness.  We have been freed from the things that have held us down.  1Peter2:9-10 is a  Scripture which we have quoted many times, read, and sang,  “You are chosen race, (like Paul was),a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. For you once were not a people, but now, you are the people of God; you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 

Do we understand this? Is it a reality to us?  Is it a revelation?  How many times do we come before God and we say, “Lord, have mercy?”  But do we expect His mercy?  Do we expect His love?  In reality, what He has done for us is already mercy upon us, as His people!   We are blessed!  Read Ephesians 1 again and again.  Read what He has done for us!  We are blessed with every spiritual blessing; we have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness.  Do we believe this?  Do we walk daily in our lives with that awareness that God is with us?   He will not fail us.  He will not forsake us.  Even if we do not understand the things that may be going on around us, He is there doing that which He has promised to do. 

Sons of the Resurrection!  We have been resurrected out of the old life.  We have been resurrected out of that curse that was upon Adam and the first of those who were at that time.  We have been given new life.  We have been blessed with the things of God.  Christ has taken our sin and our iniquity.  He paid the price to redeem us. 

How thankful are we for that redemption?   Are we reaching out to help others and to bring others above their weaknesses or above their failures?  Above the bondage that they may find themselves in?  Are we working with them?  Are we giving of ourselves to them out of thanksgiving for what He has done for us? 

We are challenged.  Romans 6:4 says, “Walk in the newness of life.” Do we understand this newness?  Are we ready to take the steps that bring us out of that?  Romans 13:14 says, “Put on the Lord Jesus.” It gives us an understanding that there is something that we must do.  We must make a decision to walk in that which He has given to us.  We are not going to remain in the darkness.  We are going to move into the light.  We are going to begin to walk in what is ours. 

Ephesians 4:24 says, “Put on the new self.”   The terms:  walk; put on.”  Ephesians 6:11says, “Put on the full armor.” Romans 6:12 says, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust.” We have the power!  We have the ability!  Sin does not have the ability to control us.   It does not have the power to bring us into its bondage and slavery.  We can make the choice to be free because we have been given that freedom in Christ. 

As Christ brought salvation to the son that was dead, Christ spoke to him and he was saved.  In our lives, we have been saved from the curse, from the darkness. We have been pulled out.  The hope is ours; the spirit dwells within us.   The Spirit of God is at our disposal at any time we ask.  Jesus said, “Ask, and I will give.”  You need wisdom, ask!  You need strength, ask and you shall receive. 

This is what the promise is.  Why do we ask others?  Why do we take into our lives things that have no real hope for us?  The hope is in Christ! The hope is in the Holy Spirit!  The hope is in our Father! 

As we begin Ordinary Time, Kingdomtime, we are reminded that we have been equipped, empowered to bring forth the glory of God in our lives.  We are His glory.  He has created us to be like Him.  No other part of creation has been given this privilege, this honor, this esteem but us! 

We do not encourage pride, arrogance, but confidence, security.  We belong to Him. We are the sons of the Resurrection. We have been resurrected from the dead.  We have been given new life in Him.   This life has brought to us hope and assurance. 

As we enter into the Season of Kingdomtide, may we come in with confidence.  We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow.  If we are walking with Him, we need not have anxiety or fear.  Faith is the strength of our lives.  Doubt destroys faith.  But confidence, security is the evidence of our assurance in Him. 

When we evaluate ourselves, how do we know that we are really walking in that new life?  It tells us in Scriptures.  1John 3:14, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.” It gives us the assurance.  Can we evaluate ourselves?  Where is our love? 

The challenge: put on the new life! Walk in that new life!  Let Christ be the Lord of our lives.  We are a blessed people.  God has given to us so much.  Let us be aware of Him.  Give Him time to make it real to us.  Give Him time to set the course for our direction –daily reading of the Scriptures; daily prayer; and as often, taking the Eucharist. Here is what brings the revelation of that greatness into our lives. 

We begin Kingdomtide.  Let us enter into it with assurance, with confidence, with excitement, with joy.  Let us begin to give Him the Glory and the Praise! 

LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION 

WITH

HIS EMINENCE, THE MOST REVEREND LUIS ANTONIO "CHITO" GOKIM TAGLE  D.D.

ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, 

CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH

AND 

VENERABLE PRIMATE

OF THE PHILIPPINES

THROUGH

THE WORD EXPOSED

1ST READING

MY HEART'S THANKSGIVING 

2ND READING

DWELLS GOD

GOSPEL

FAITH EXPOSED: DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH (PART 1)

REFLECTION