“This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.” This line from a hymn is oft quoted by Christians who are sick and tired of this old world. And yet they often leave off the rest (and best) of the line: “My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” How do we get from here to there? The collect and homily for Trinity 4 point the way forward.

That gulf was not fixed at the moment of death. It was being fixed, slowly and silently, across the entire span of his life…The distance between his soul and God grew wider, the chasm deeper, until what had been a life’s habit became an eternal condition.

Does cover mean to sweep under the rug, ignore, pretend nothing is wrong? No. It means to pursue and practice forgiveness. How? By letting it slide, not taking offense, but enduring wrongs — and by seeking a true change of heart and life with quiet patience.

Beloved, let us remember Paul’s conversion not as an account of some distant history, so much as a living call. The risen Christ still confronts, He still converts, still incorporates, and still feeds His people. And as we come to this Altar, like Paul, let us proclaim, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

“Jesus crossed the Jordan River in baptism in order to fight the good fight of the faith and to wage war on the world, the flesh, and the devil. And he embarked upon that mission – not as a lone wolf, a maverick, or a superhero – but as the Son of God in the power of the Spirit and the love of his Father. “

Once Stephen saw Jesus, nothing else mattered.
Not the rants or rage of other people.
Not the stripping, the shaming, or the stoning.
Once Stephen saw Jesus, nothing else mattered.  

Christ turns scarcity into abundance. If He can multiply loaves, don’t you know He can multiply our compassion, our forgiveness, our patience? If Christ does this for us, Advent, indeed, therefore, is a time to go and do likewise… it invites us to tangible, incarnational works of mercy, not out of guilt, but out of union with the Shepherd who compassionately feeds the hungry.

“Peter, ever sincere, asks our Lord, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (Matt. 18:21). His offer was actually generous by rabbinic standards. Yet Christ answers, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Our Lord’s meaning is clear: divine mercy cannot be measured by some utilitarian arithmetic. It is infinite, because it reflects the infinite heart of God.”

As the children of Israel were not able to escape the house of slavery without Yahweh’s presence and power, as the paralytic was not able to overcome his own sickness and weakness without Jesus,  so we are not able to change our hearts or walk in God’s ways or please him without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Lord and Giver of Life pulsating in our heart and soul, we are only able to stumble in darkness, misuse our bodies and mistreat each other; to waste our lives, and wreck the world with our wicked thoughts, words, and deeds. Sin paralyzes us and prevents us from pleasing God.