2122AFC052821 – Believe it or else.
Deuteronomy 4:33-35 – 33 Has any people ever heard the voice of a god speaking out of a fire, as you have heard, and lived? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by terrifying displays of power, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.
Romans 8:15-17 – 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Matthew 28:16-17 – 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. I use that form of greeting often in these pages. It is based on the Apostle Paul’s greetings for many of his epistles. All three of the Persons in the Holy Trinity are mentioned, and so when I read it, or think it, or say it I give a slight bow of my head. (See GIRM §275 Bows.) Critics of Christianity tell us that nothing we believe is credible, and that such “rituals” we call Sacraments are meaningless. They refuse to know God, and fail to understand the Unity of God’s Diversity. That is why last week’s topic on Pentecost is so baffling to non-Christians. Frankly, a lot of Christians have difficulty grasping it. Nonetheless, God himself has given us so many signs and wonders to understand who and what God is. God is our Creator, our Deliverer, our Savior, and our Mystery.
These three passages for our Key Verses today give a thumbnail history of God’s relationships with us – we, the earthlings he created. First, he tells us that no other “little-g god” can do what he has done for Israel. They witnessed it. They passed it down through generations. They wrote it into the Torah. God sent them Judges, and Prophets, and Kings, and Priests, and Rites, and Laws, and they really should have had it all “down pat,” as we say. There shouldn’t be any questions such as “who is God and what did God do?” It’s all right there in front of us for millennia.
Second, in the reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Holy Spirit tells us through inspired writing that we are the adopted children of God – as he promised! He spoke through the Prophet Hosea in Hosea 11:1 – 1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. God loved his chosen people as his children. Popular culture has it that every earthling is a child of God. That’s the point-of-view from the World. Even then, Hosea – who prophesied toward the end of the Divided Kingdom and was for a time a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah – it was clear that God’s plan of Salvation was headed toward the birth of the Messiah who would be Immanuel – God among us, born of a virgin and therefore human. Thus Immanuel, God’s only-begotten Son, was our Brother, and as our Brother he makes us joint heirs of all of God’s covenants … IF WE LOVE AND OBEY HIM.
Lastly, we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if only, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Whoa, now wait a minute! “Joint heirs,” “with Christ,” “suffer with him,” and “glorified with him.” It’s the Family Tradition, so if you want the benefits of that Tradition, you gotta be part of the Family! And how does that happen? Well, in Matthew 28:19,(↔ Click Link to see this in context) just a couple of verses down from our Key Verse, Jesus says, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, …” That is how we get into “The Family.” You remember how that works: Repent. Believe the Gospel. Be Baptized. Like it says in John 1:12 – 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, …
Belovéd it’s all in The Book, you know, the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Now, I want us to focus on what that Key Verse from Mathew says, the one before Jesus gives his Great Commission. Think about this: It is quite likely there were more than just The Eleven remaining Disciples there. This was at the end of the 40th day after the Resurrection – the day of Ascension. He’s been with up to 500 persons at a time – although we don’t know how often. They’ve watched him, talked with him, ate with him, learned with him, and they know that it is HIM. Why would they doubt? Looking back at the history of Israel’s relationship with God, we know they frequently needed a “faith-lift.” But, could it be that maybe he did look a wee-bit different? Does a glorified body have a little bit of shimmer from that Sh’khinah Glory of the Living and True God? Might they be wondering – as they see him in that Glory – is this really the same guy? No one among them, I am sure, had ever seen a Resurrected and Glorified Body. And he was giving such new instructions like making Disciples of all nations. What? We’re going to convert Gentiles? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now think: This is before Pentecost, right? How does that formula work, and what does it mean to baptize “in the name (singular) of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Triune)?” We shouldn’t be surprised that maybe a few of them – hopefully none among the Eleven now that Thomas got it straight – might be a little fuzzy-minded about what happened, what’s happening, and what’s gonna happen. Can we call that doubt? Perhaps.
I confess that even after 2000+ years, there are still things about those first 40 days of the establishment of the New Covenant that I just have to blink at twice and say, “O-o-o-o-K. I got it (I hope).” We also know that at some point (or two) in Jesus’ ministry some of the followers decided it was all a bunch of hooey, and left the pack. They never got to be part of The Family – that is unless they repented, believed the Gospel, and got baptized. We don’t often think of it this way, but there really is a fourth part to that – it is the Confirmation of Faith we obtained when we received the Holy Spirit. That is your Membership ID for The Family. It’s like the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3c – (↔ Click Link) no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. How are we going to get to that point in our faith-walk unless remember that
- God is God, and he’s told us that about a gazillion times
- We are not God, and that should be pretty easy to figure out based on what we cannot do
- Jesus is God, because His Father said so, and so did Jesus
- Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit who is God so that we can finally know God as God is
- We receive the Holy Spirit when we repent, believe the Gospel, are baptized, and are confirmed in the Holy Spirit.
As I always say “PIECE OF PIE!” (I’m not that fond of cake.) So, May the Piece be with you, with me, with us because within that piece of pie, which is easy as pie to understand and to enjoy, is the Grace and Peace of God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. That is the Family Tradition. We keep and reinforce that tradition through our prayers because … (c’mon now, you know this one!) – THE FAMILY THAT PRAYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER! Want some clues on how that works? Try this: 1522AFC052915 – Whole in One. I’m praying for you. Please pray for me. Pray for this ruptured America. Pray for each other. Pray for everybody everywhere anywhere all the time because we’re all in the same canoe (↔ Music Link). PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! All things that are Good come together in our El Shaddai-Olam, the Living and True God in Three Persons – Blesséd Trinity (↔ Music Link) for They alone are HOLY.
Let us pray: O glorious God who have given us all things that are good, grant that we who call upon Thee as Family may live to embrace all that is perfect in Thee and nothing that is contrary to Thy holiness, Thy perfect integrity, Thy endless mercy and Thy eternal Salvation through Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever-and-ever. AMEN
Belovéd, if we do not believe, what else can we expect except the “or else” of eternal separation from The Family? Matthew 10:30-33 – 32 Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
Believe it or else. He said it, I believe it, and I’m stickin’ to it! It’s a joy to be Part of The Family of God!! (↔ Music Link) My Abba wants all of us to join in on Chapter 1, Verse 12 of John.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
Please pray with us here at Share-a-Prayer. (Puh-LEEEZ?)
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
