Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Sermon for 03 March 2013, Third Sunday in Lent C



Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
God Is Faithful
Third Sunday in Lent, 03 March 2013
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God Is Always Faithful. We are not. About the Cover: Despite the troubles and trials that flood your life, despite the heartaches and sorrows, the tears and struggles, God is faithful. With every temptation you endure, He will provide “the way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). That doesn’t mean that in this life everything will make sense, nor that you and those you love will never suffer. It does mean that He will never leave you and will supply you strength to endure.
That is the message St. Paul shares in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
If you find a passage on water in the Scriptures, ask yourself if it has a connection to Holy Baptism. The miracle God performed through Moses in getting Israel as a nation across dry ground while the waters were held at bay doesn’t seem to be about baptism—until Paul says it is. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night was the Lord’s abiding presence with His people. The spiritual food and drink that they fed on was of Christ. The spiritual rock that followed them was Christ. God was faithful. And, as Paul clearly says, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” The people spent forty years in the wilderness as a consequence of their unfaith, disobedience, and sin. The Lord raised up a new generation who would take possession of the Promised land under Caleb and the prophet Joshua.
St. Paul tells us that these are not merely idle tales. They are not dry and dead history. He says: Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
St. Paul is pithy. He continues: Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
Scripture was recorded for you. We are all given to imitate the examples of the faithful according to our common vocations. We are to all learn from the counter examples of every unfaithful thought, word, and deed. God is faithful. We must not put Christ to the test in our unfaithfulness.
This section of 1 Corinthians 10 concludes with a regularly-misunderstood passage.
Does God promise to never give you more than you can handle? Be careful in paraphrasing the promises the Lord gives us.
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Does God promise to never give you more than you can handle? Not exactly.
He will not let you be tempted / beyond your ability to resist the temptation / with a way of escape / that He alone provides. That sounds a lot different than the common paraphrases that float around the internet and come as intended comfort from the mouths of friends.
Not one of us is so strong, so wise, so popular, so pious that he or she is incapable of falling into sin. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to mankind. Yet, there is a big difference between being presented with a temptation and giving in to temptation. We pray, “Lead us not into temptation.” James tells us that “God tempts no one.” We do know that the Lord tests our faith. Translators have offered alternatives to “Lead us not into temptation.” A common one in progressive Christian circles is “Save us from the time of trial.” Like it or not, it is a valid alternative translation. Still, it doesn’t sound right. “Save us from the time of trial” sounds too different. Consider: “Do not allow us to be led into temptation.” It is not as brief, but it makes the same point and sounds similar enough to “Lead us not into temptation.”
God is faithful where we are not. Jesus resisted Satan’s own temptation after forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. He remained faithful when Israel was unfaithful, and, as a result, spent forty years in the wilderness.
When you are in the midst of a temptation, flee. Don’t be alone. Find another Christian. Until you can, and especially after you have found the company of another believer, pray. Pray the Lord’s Prayer. Pray from your heart and off the top of your head. Pray faithful printed prayers. Pray the Psalms. Fill your mind and heart and time with God’s Word. Read it aloud. Pray it. Pray in response to it. Resist the devil and He will flee from you. And in all of these actions of fleeing, finding Christian company, hearing Scripture, and praying, we are relying on the Lord’s strength, the Lord’s Word, the Lord’s Spirit, even the God the Holy Spirit Himself.
Does God promise to never give you more than you can handle? Not exactly. He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability to resist the temptation with a way of escape that He alone provides. That way is Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. Cherish His Word. Remember your Baptism into Christ. Repent. Be reconciled to God. Prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper at your next opportunity. God is faithful where we are not. When and where you have been unfaithful, God is faithful to forgive you and increase your faith. God Is Faithful. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.