Pilgrim Way of Lent II

1^st Sunday in Lent

    “…receive not the grace of God in vain…”  2 Cor 6:1 

    “..There were some at Corinth who while they may have heard the apostolic gospel, had not received it in such a way that it became a regenerating influence in their lives. They had not yet learned to say, ‘ The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” Tasker on 2 Corinthians.

The Apostle goes on in this chapter to talk about being the ministers of God which every Christian is and what that looks like .  What do we look like to others?

   He enumerates some of the characteristics of the Christian ----“much patience….by pureness, by knowledge, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned ( not hypocritical) ( Tasker-“ a sincere, heart-felt concern to promote the true welfare of all the brothers for whom Christ died, however unattractive or unlikeable they may be.”), by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness.”

Martin Luther has said that human nature is like a drunkard trying to ride a horse. He gets on and falls off on the left side. He resolves not to make that mistake again, so he remounts, careful to avoid falling off on the left, and promptly falls off on the right. I like the illustration about the farmer who had two horses, one lean and one well fed. The lad asked, “ Why is one horse fatter than the other?” The farmer said, “ the one grows the most who I feeds the most!”

In today’s Gospel from Matthew we see this is one of the primary ways the devil tries to get Christians to fall off the horse so to speak.  He makes them question who they are. In Matthew 4:6 we read that the devil asked Jesus, “ If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down : for it is written , ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning thee…”  In other words, if you are really are a blessing and have received the grace of God, why are you not a blessing and act in ways that are not a blessing to yourself or others?

This is point 1 for today.  Have we been a blessing in our Christian lives to others and first to ourselves?  Or are we known for being something else?  Receiving the grace of God in vain?  At some point we must say as the Apostle Paul did in Galatians 2:20 , “ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I , but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God , who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

Our 2^nd point is in the area of being “Beloved” in our lives as Jesus was of course in a special way, “ You are My Son , the Beloved”  God the Father said at His Baptism.  We as Christians who have been baptized into God’s Spirit by faith are beloved.  But what does this Beloved status mean for our relationships with others who have been created in the image of God, our neighbours, our friends and our family members?  Do we see them as beloved and called by God or are they something else?  “ …. In a world filled with voices that shout:’ You are no good ,you are ugly, you are worthless …you are nobody---unless you can demonstrate the opposite.”  Nouwen, Life of the Beloved.

Is not God calling others to know Him,  and are we not the instruments of Christ in showing them His love for we are beloved?  In a certain sense all of God’s creation is beloved but because of sin and evil choices people have not chosen to live out their calling to be His people?

“ Some hints for Lent by Rev. AC A Hall:
Lent is a time for Retirement. We are bidden at this season to follow our Lord, in some measure, into the wilderness, and give a few weeks to a closer inquiry into the state of our souls, and a nearer approach to God…Secure time, and freedom of mind, for prayer, for the study of God's Word, for self-examination, and the works of repentance, and for gaining instruction in religious matters.” He then identifies the particular areas the individual Christian needs to focus on. This is personal work we need to do.
“The mind of the Spirit is life and peace…”

As we see ourselves as having not received the grace of God in vain, that is we are beloved, we should as well see others as beloved and called to know and love God for to love Him is to have peace and life now in this life and in the life to come, life everlasting.