In the grace of God we enter into the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 15:20-28 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was seen by real people in real time. While the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection the Pharisees did. Paul, as an Apostle out of time, came face to face with Jesus, our risen Savior. The mystery of the Body of Christ which would be formed in the Gentiles (non-Jews) through Jesus was revealed to him. By the grace of God this mystery was given to him. Through the power of Holy Spirit he shared this mystery with the world. For 25 years Paul preached salvation through faith plus nothing. He was subjected to physical and emotional torture in his mission to preach the gospel of grace to the Gentiles. He knew that in Jesus the world could be saved…He accomplished His mission!
1 Corinthians 15:11-17 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
In the ancient cities the concept of the resurrection was foreign. Paul spent his life proving them wrong. The basis of our beliefs relies on the resurrection and satan to this day fights against it. He only wants to kill, steal and destroy our faith in Jesus the Christ, the anointed of God.
Romans 1:1-6 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
The Son of God was raised by the power of Holy Spirit, Jesus is the first of those raised from the dead. Without faith in this resurrection power we would be without hope. The same power who raised Him up will raise us also. With God nothing is impossible. Jesus is the only One who could do this, the firstborn of all, who would enter into eternal life. Faith plus nothing, is a total trust in Jesus, to do what would be impossible without Him. Precept by precept we will be changed into His image.
Galatians 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
In His death we died to sin. In His resurrection we are raised. Now we live and abide in our faith in Jesus Christ alone. Carla
Christ live in me refers to new life in Christ as well as the presence of God’s Spirit, which empowers obedience to the gospel (Galatians 3:2; 4:6; 5:16–18, 22–25). The Son of God was Pauls’ title for Jesus and anticipates the parallels he will draw between slavery and the law, as well as sonship and promise (4:4–7). Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave to a child of God. Paul describes the sacrificial love of Christ in personal terms. Christ’s willingness to die on behalf of sinners brings deliverance from the power of sin for those believe in Him (1:4). The grace of God suggests that Paul’s opponents had accused him of using God’s grace to justify unrighteous living. Faithlife Study Bible
Paul and every believer were crucified with Christ in order to die to sin, the law, and “this present evil age” (1:4). While believers live on physically, Christ also lives within them spiritually. Christ’s resurrection power through the Spirit is worked out through the Christian (Romans 6:4–11) who chooses to live by faith in the Son of God. If righteousness is attainable through keeping the law of Moses, then God’s gracious act of sending Christ to die on the Cross to pay for sin was unnecessary and useless. The NKJV Study Bible
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Galatians 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Galatians 3:21 is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
The gift of a soft heart
“My mantra this year has been the Hebrew words, Lev Basar, which means ‘a heart of flesh,’ from the biblical verse, ‘I will take from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’ Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, ‘There's nothing as whole as a broken heart.’ In these traditions, you cultivate a broken heart which is very different from depression or sadness. It's the kind of vulnerability, openness, and acute sensitivity to your own suffering and the suffering of others that becomes an opportunity for connection.” Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger wrote these words some time ago, but I’m choosing to borrow them for this year.
I needed to hear them.
And I need to embrace them.
I can tell you this; my heart is soft, and the tears fall. Gratefully.
Because here’s the deal; I don’t want my heart to be shut down (or to go away). I want to speak from that place—yes, vulnerability, openness, an acute sensitivity to my own suffering and the suffering of others that becomes an opportunity for connection. Yes, tears gratefully redeeming life’s heaviness, and healing for craziness.
And for much of my life, I did not see the power, or the gift, of vulnerability and openness.
Yes, life can squeeze us.
Yes, circumstances can be unfair.
Yes, people can be cruel and without mercy.
And yes, the "system" can feel crippling.
I assure you that I can always find a way, to nurse a grudge.
But here's the deal: If we don't learn that embracing vulnerability is okay, in the end we become encumbered, because we will cede our identity and our power—which means that we give up our ability to choose…
to create sanctuaries, to be intentional, to be generous,
to be big-hearted, to be empathetic,
to be compassionate, to forgive and to be willing to grow and to change.
What I’ve realized sadly, is that now, with the subject of compassion, you need to take sides. My friends, there is enough crippling stuff in the world. Tears are never partisan. And we’re on this journey together. It is my prayer that we are not paralyzed by antagonism.
And I say (yes, often in homilies), “Compassion matters. And our world needs it.”
And that, Bryan Stevenson reminds us, is when and where healing begins.
“I guess I’d always known but never fully considered that being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; sometimes we’re shattered by things we would never have chosen. But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion. We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity… But simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity… Embracing our brokenness creates a need for mercy.” (Bryan is a lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.)
We forget the power and life-giving restoration and repair from simple gestures of compassion.
To invite us to be the kind of person we want to be.
Let us take up our birthright of belonging and, in the spirit of the mystical Jewish teaching of tikkun olam, let us mend the broken world and restore wholeness to the web of interbeing.
We have the power to do the right thing. The power to be an example of grace, not judgement. Of empathy, not intolerance. Of compassion, not meanness. Of hope, not fear. SabbathMoments
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