Sermon Notes — November 24, 2024
November 24, 2024
Luke 23:38-47
Grace Always Wins
Rev. Terry Carty
Exodus 34:6 Context: Moses came down from the mountain carrying the two tablets of God’s 10 commandments. He saw his Exodus people worshiping a golden calf in the wilderness and he got so angry that he threw down the tablets. The tablets were broken and destroyed. Symbolically, God’s rules were broken and destroyed. God called Moses to again go to Mt Sinai and gave him the Commandments a second time. This is what the Lord, YHWH, said to Moses about God’s own nature:
YHWH passed before him and proclaimed, “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”
That’s not fair! That is what my wife and I heard all too often when we were raising our two wonderful children. It’s not fair, she took my toy. It’s not fair, he has his stinky feet on my side of the seat. It’s not fair, it was not her turn! It’s just not fair!
Rules are established for fairness – football, Pickleball, tic-tac-toe, driving on the road, and even elections. You break the rules, you suffer the penalties. Right?
We have just come through a contentious election season. We have been experiencing divisiveness like most of us have never known in our lifetimes. No matter which party you supported, you probably noticed that most candidates in tight competition eventually went low and broke the rules. So much so that we became weary, disillusioned and just wanted to get it over with. We became numb to lies and accusations. Fairness became something that we ceased to expect. Rules? Who cares? Have the rules changed? Or is morality in retreat?
I think we are beginning to settle into some of the implications of the elections now. I am hearing a lot of people asking questions. Where are we headed as a nation? Where is our moral compass pointing? These are not just questions of one or the other political leaning. They are questions that we Christians are struggling with.
I contend that our sense of fairness has more to do with the context of the situation than with rules. And no matter what we may think of the state of our nation, I contend that Grace Always Wins.
I want to share a scripture that was written by the apostle Paul to the Christians in Ephesus, an ancient Greek city. This is such a timely scripture for us this Sunday. Today is known as Christ the King Sunday or the Reign of Christ Sunday. It is no coincidence that Paul would speak of the highest heavenly realm in the same breath that talks about God’s gift of Grace.
To really hear what Paul is writing to the people in Ephesus, it is helpful to know about the Jewish and Christian view of the universe in Paul’s time:
The earth was flat, and it was covered by a heavenly dome lit by sun, moon and stars.
THREE REALMS (KINGDOMS)
The firmament – “this world,” earthly realm, inhabited by humans and ruled by kings
Today, these earthly kingdoms are ruled by presidents, prime ministers, dictators, autocrats.
The highest heaven – the home of God somewhere above the dome, inhabited by ‘heavenlies’ (angels and saints) ruled by God and the ascended Christ
The air – the space in between the firmament and the highest heaven, a realm inhabited by demons and ruled by Satan. In Paul’s time, Satan would be understood as a spirit that turns people astray. Satan was the “influencer” of evil.
Now hear what Paul writes to the Christians in the Church at Ephesus:
Ephesians 2:1-8 (NIV)
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world (firmament or earthly realm) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ, and seated us with him in the heavenly realms (realm of the heavenlies) in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages (future generations) he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
While we certainly have a different understanding of the universe, it is easy to see how we can relate to the concept that there is a source of evil, and it has a seductive impact on humanity.
Paul tells of the kingdom over which Christ is King. It is a realm in which grace is the rule, not the exception. It is the kingdom above all kingdoms, no matter how good or bad the kingdoms of earth and the air above it are. And it is a kingdom where peace prevails, not chaos.
For Paul, and thus shaping Christian theology from the beginning, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was God’s victory over the corrupting power Satan. The death of Jesus was not fair. He did not break any rules. He was innocent - without sin - executed with extreme prejudice. But God’s Grace prevailed and won.
For us, even after all these generations, God’s grace always continues to overpower evil with good.
How does that play out for us? If Grace always wins, how long are we going to have to wait for it? Will we see it in our lifetimes?
The Good News is there in the passage I read: God raised the saints and even the ongoing generations up with Christ to the heavenly realm. God’s Grace continues to be the rule. We are already experiencing God’s Grace. The real question is: can we accept the grace to live in that kingdom in the here and now?
As both Dr. Weatherly and Dr. Goff have mentioned in the past two weeks, at our baptisms or confirmations, we were asked some questions. The first is: “Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” If you said “YES” to that, then you accepted that you are both a receiver and a giver of the Grace that always wins.
Grace always wins when we resist evil. Because we are people of grace, we speak up when something is unfair or if someone is suffering from injustice. Because we are people of grace, we teach our children and grandchildren the ways of kindness and forgiveness. As people of grace, we welcome our neighbors and also the stranger with hospitality. As people of grace, we feed people simply because they are hungry. And we share clothing and housing. And we pray for people who are ill. We mourn with those who mourn.
Just as Jesus embodied God’s nature, we are raised up with him to be of the same nature. Grace always wins as we live our lives in a Godly, Christlikeness: with mercy and grace, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. By the gift of Grace, we are the winners.
This is my Thanksgiving Prayer:
God, thank you that you are compassionate and full of grace, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Thank you for sending Jesus to the world to make that rule real to us. Thank you for not rejecting us, but rather coming to rescue us from a life defined by shame and regret and fear. Thank you that our lives can now be defined by your love. Thank you for the gift of your grace and forgiveness. Thank you that we can know the incomparable riches of your grace. What a gift you have given to us. We are forever grateful. In the life giving name of Jesus we pray, Amen.