Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
June 26, 2024
Invitatory
I was glad when they said to me,” Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Reading Romans 4:13-25
God’s Promise Realized through Faith
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ‘the father of many nations’, according to what was said, ‘So numerous shall your descendants be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
What does it mean ‘to believe’? Probably to each one of us something slightly different. I have talked about the difference between works righteousness and faith alone or sola fide, in my meditations. This passage once again points us towards the power of faith. Paul clarifies between the law and faith, warning us of the dangers of focusing too much on the law, and not enough on faith. Paul is writing in a particular context to a particular audience, but I would argue that this message is just as valuable today for our community as it was back then. When we over focus on the law, justice, or the rules, we are once again assuming the position of arbiter. We are imposing man’s authority and man’s consequences thereby usurping God’s power, or attempting to. The effect of this is to lessen the value of faith, faith that God can do anything. Paul warns us that when we put our faith in the rules and not in God we are lessening the role that God will play in all of our lives. It does not change who God is, but changes who God is to us.
It is not common to talk about what belief and faith mean to each one of us today. Most of us do not engage in existential queries, or talk too deeply about what will happen after we die, or consider in conversation who sits in judgment or mercy for our sins or successes. I cannot say what my friends or fellow parishioners really believe each Sunday or in fact any other day of the week. But two nights ago as the Church burned, people were devastated. Neighbors with no personal connection to the inside of Redeemer sat speechless as the firefighters worked and frantically texted or called to spread the word. Other parishioners heard and came from near and far to be sure their sanctuary would remain. For many of us life will change on a dime, kids will switch schools, jobs will come and go, loved ones will move away while others will move back. The story of life keeps rambling on. But Redeemer remains. It is foundational for our community and for many of us. It is what we think of when we think of home. In fact one RYG girl many years ago whose family moved away asked if this would always be her home? She was graduating from college and wasn’t sure where she would settle. I assured her that Redeemer and the people there would remain steadfast.
To me this is the manifestation of belief. You cannot fully capture it, like love or truth, it eludes any exact definition. Why does this Church mean so much to so many? It is a home of a different description then one where you make your coffee or lay your head. It is the kind of place that feeds your soul, and helps you to discern what kind of human you want to be and how God fits into your story. You could walk into that place in 1930, 1960, 1999 and 2024 and it stays steadfast-timeless. It does not get caught up in the rules of man. For many of us who cannot say exactly what we believe, we can comfortably say we feel a connection to the Church of the Redeemer. There is something about that place that exists outside of the law, outside of the trends or politics of our times. There is an inherent promise of something more that engenders faith in something more; a faith that maybe “will be reckoned to us who believe in him”; and perhaps then we can understand God’s promise for us.
For the Parish
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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