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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Fourth Sunday after Trinity |
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July 1, 2007 Let
Us Have Grace Hebrews 12:28 The ability to know God is God given. We did not reach up into Heaven and discover Him. He came down from Heaven and revealed Himself to us. The ability to remain in Christ, and to serve Him acceptably is also God given. We are brought into salvation by grace, and we continue in it by grace. Thus, Hebrews 12:28 says, “let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably.” This verse tells us two things about our service to God; we need grace, and, we have grace. We need grace. Nothing is more clear to the person trying to live the Christian life than the fact that we are unable to do it by our own power. We need help. We need grace. When the grace of God first came to us we were fallen creatures living after the lusts of the flesh and the pride of the mind. In short, we were sinners. But now, in Christ Jesus we have been re-created, or born again into new people. Even our old nature, which made us so susceptible to sin, has been transformed. Or, I should say, it is being transformed. We are being renewed daily in Christ, but our transformation is not yet complete. In fact, if we really examine our lives we become somewhat aware that God has much work to do in us yet. We have not reached moral perfection. We’re not even as close as we like to think we are. Therefore, we need grace to give us power to do as we know we ought. We are like the disciples in Gethsemane, whom Jesus asked to watch and pray, only to find them asleep. He said their spirits were willing, meaning they had the desire to obey, but their flesh was weak. Like them we often have the desire to do well, to live holy lives, to obey God’s Law, to serve Him acceptably, but the weakness of our flesh prevents us. Our flesh desires the gratification of its passions and needs, and leads us astray. At other times we don’t even have the desire to do well. We desire to sin. We need grace to convince us to serve God, and to give us the desire to serve Him. In truth, if God will not give us grace to make us want to serve Him we will not serve Him at all, for all of this desire comes by a work of His grace in our hearts. Our Catechism correctly recognizes our need of grace. After teaching about our duty toward God as found in the Ten Commandments, it says; “My
good Child, know this; that thou art not able to do these things of
thyself, nor to walk in the Commandments of God, and to serve Him, without
His special grace; which thou must learn at all times to call for by
diligent prayer,” (BCP p. 580) The good news in all of this is, we have grace. God is a God of grace abounding, willing to pour it out upon His people. When the book of Hebrews says, “let us have grace” it is more of a statement of fact than a petition. It is not a request for grace, so much as it is the recognition of and encouragement to use grace already given. The grace of God is here and available in abundance to us. God has set before us storehouses of grace where we can go to receive the abundance of grace we need. We call these storehouses the “means of grace.” Notice here the logical progression of the Catechism. After teaching us about our duty, it reminds us of our need of grace to do it. From the need of grace it leads us to the means of grace, generally, and from there it takes us into the specific means, beginning with prayer. How can we receive grace to serve God? Pray for it. Do we sometimes feel defeated in our souls? Are we sometimes overwhelmed with all we have to do? Do our “crosses” seem heavy and unbearable? We must have grace to carry them. We must have grace to follow our Master. Pray for it. The Christian life is not always pretty and sanitary. It is real life. It is war. It is death. It is self-sacrifice. It is choosing against our own desires and choosing for God’s will. It is putting up with people and situations we would rather leave. It is doing our duty, even when it is distasteful and costly. We need grace for this. Pray for grace. Sometimes it seems all we can do is pray for grace to make us willing to pray. Pray for grace. From here the Catechism takes us to the great prayer given to us by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, which we call the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is a comprehensive prayer. It encompasses everything we could ever need to pray about. We can elaborate on it. We can expand on it. We can pray for God’s Kingdom to come to specific people. We can pray that God’s will be done in our lives as it is in Heaven. We can pray for specific needs of specific people under “our daily bread.” But we cannot pray for anything specific that is not already prayed for in general in the Lord’s Prayer. It is wonderful to know that grace abounds to us who are poor and weak and needy. It is wonderful to know we can receive God's grace simply by asking for it; that God’s grace is given to those who pray. It is wonderful to know we have a model prayer that encompasses all our needs, and that we can pray it almost anytime and anywhere. We don’t have to try to be eloquent, we don’t have to have great talent in self expression. We don’t have to be clever or innovative. Just pray the Lord’s Prayer. God will answer. We also have a another prayer for grace in the Collect for the first Sunday after Epiphany. Just turn to it and pray; “O
Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who
call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things
they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill
the same, through Christ our Lord. Amen,” (BCP, p. 109). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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