LOVE COVERS SINS
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION
The Rev. Michael Vinson+ Rector
The Collect. O GOD, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. AMEN.
The Epistle. 1 St. Peter 4:7-11
The Gospel. St. John XV 26, and part of Chap. XVI
"THE end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."
Today, on this 1st Sunday of Ascensiontide, a season in the Christian liturgical calendar commemorating the Ascension of Jesus Christ, we stand in awe of the bodily ascension of the 2nd Adam, the perfect man, Jesus Christ. His welcome into his rightful place of authority, dominion, and rule has brought about a new reality: Ascension realities. 'These are the transformative effects of his ascension on our earthly existence:
In Christ, humanity has returned to the Father. In Christ, redeemed man has actually entered into heaven; man is 'back in the garden' and, in Christ, enjoys the place of communion with God. We, the children of God, are blessed with these precious realities solely because of the selfless sacrifice of Jesus Christ and by his ascension, fulfilled the salvation and restoration of fallen humanity because one man, Jesus Christ, did everything necessary to reverse the condemning curse that the first man brought upon himself and us. The ascension of the resurrected Lord has transformed everything, and I mean everything.
First, death and its sting has been overcome by the cross, the death of Christ has destroyed death. This transformation brings us the promise of eternal life.
Second, sin, which holds mastery over men, no longer has dominion over the Christian because we "are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14). Now, through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we can choose righteousness and master that old wicked master to whom we were once enslaved.
Third, history itself has been transformed by the resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit, signaling the end of one epoch or age and the inauguration of a new day, a new age, the final stage of history before the return of Christ. St. Paul reminds us this morning that we live in the end times, for "the end of all things is at hand." This is it. History will not produce another "age"; we are living in the end. The powers of sin and death have been defeated, fallen humanity is restored to its former glory, and even Time itself is being redeemed by the Ascended Lord even as I speak.
These realities have truly come, yet they are not fully realized because we are here and he is there. Christ's once-offered, perfect sacrifice has obtained the great victory for man, and now we are living in the last days. In his mercy, the Lord has gifted the Time, from Pentecost to this moment, for all people to repent and be saved. Every minute, hour, and day is a gift and opportunity for sinners to return to God for the salvation of the soul and the promise of bodily resurrection.
And I know that Time sometimes feels like a curse; we ask, "When will Jesus come back? Why won't he return and reverse all the imperfections of this world, the wrongs of others, and even within ourselves? We pray, "Lord Jesus, come!" I get it, trust me! But look at it another way, Time is God's gracious opportunity to be saved. But, my friends, there is an end to God's patience and forbearing. Time will run out, "the end of all things is at hand."
St. Peter reminds us today that we not only need to know where we are as baptized Christians (in Christ), but WHEN we are, because the days are short, we can't extend or shorten them. One thing we can hang our hats on, though, is that Jesus will return on the clouds, just as he departed, to usher in the grand finale, the great cosmic denouement, the reckoning of all things, and ushering in of the eternal age of rest, shalom, and glory for all who faithful people. And, sadly for some, eternal torment, sorrow, and never-ending death in the lake of fire, where they will join the Devil who deceived them (Rev 20:10). My friends, let us not sit on our hands but lift them in prayer for the lost because the stakes are high, ascension realities are real, and God keeps his word.
Earlier, I shared that the ascension signals divine victory, and it's true. But though Jesus has defeated satan by his resurrection and ascension, final judgment on the Devil and his eternal incarceration is yet to come. Presently, he prowls around like a lion, waiting to devour the people of God. This is precisely why St. Peter exhorts us to prayer and sobriety because this world and the enemy of our souls and bodies, though defanged, still bites.
And yet, committing oneself in these last and dangerous days to sober prayer is subordinated to an even greater work in the Christian life. "Above all things (says Peter) have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." You see, the most important thing we can do is foster love with one another because love (charity) covers a multitude of sins, and the last thing we want to be covered in when the Bridegroom returns to fetch us home is sin.
You see, living soberly (meaning we face reality and live accordingly) and living prayerfully (seeking God's will) work themselves out in love. Love is our strong defense against the enemies of this world and is the one thing necessary to prepare us for the judgment to come.
How does love cover a multitude of sins? What does this mean? When Peter quotes from Proverbs 10:12 the famous saying that 'love covers a multitude of sins,' he doesn't mean, and Proverbs doesn't mean, that love is what we call a 'cover-up' operation, hiding things we'd rather not face. Rather, the gift of love we are invited to offer one another minute by minute, day by day throughout our lives, transforms situations so that the 'multitude of sins' that were there before are graciously taken out of the equation; they are covered.
Scripture speaks of the covering of offenses in two senses. One is to simply "let it go" to "overlook it." This is referred to in Proverbs 19:11, which says, "Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." That's one meaning of cover — to overlook. You see the violation, even experience it, but love inclines you not to take offense, be angered, or be hurt by the transgression upon you, but instead to hope that your enduring the injury and your patience will bear fruit in changing the situation, your offender, and heal the relational breach.
It is worth noting that there is another interpretation of the phrase "love covers a multitude of sins." This interpretation suggests that, while exercising patience, one can also work actively and discreetly to help the person in question find a path to forgiveness. It is important not to assume that this phrase implies turning a blind eye to wrongdoing. Rather, love seeks to promote peace, encourage holiness, and promote the well-being of the person who has sinned rather than seeking public retribution.
Both meanings of cover—the "overlook" one and the "quietly deal with the sinner" one—have a forgiving spirit at work. We see in Psalm 32:1: "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." In this verse, cover parallels forgiveness. To cover is to work toward forgiveness and take away sins' power to ruin relationships. In God's economy, the sins of others are covered when we forgive them.
The English language employs one word for love, but biblical Greek has four different words to describe it.
The Greek word storge means familial love. It is the natural affection people have for their family. It is best understood as the love between a parent and child or between a husband and wife.
Philia is the love shared between friends, the bond that binds people beyond family and blood relations.
Then there is eros or romantic love. Lovers, says CS Lewis, "are always talking to one another about their love" and "are normally face to face, absorbed in each other." We fall into eros when we fall in love and correctly express this through Christian marriage.
And then there is agape love. Agape is almost always identified with God's love. It is the highest form of love, charity, and sacrificial love. This is precisely the love that St. Peter is calling us to. It is the same love Jesus commanded of his disciples at the Last Supper: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (Jn 13:34).
How did he "agape" them? I ask, how does "agape" us? He forgives. My dear friends, God so "ἀγαπάω'd" the world that he gave his only Son, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John continues, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned." Why? Because in Christ, God has forgiven you before you ever asked for it and thought you didn't deserve his forgiveness.
The apostle tells us that the most important thing we must do in these last days is to foster fervent charity (agape) among ourselves. This means we are called to love as Christ loved us, which means we need to cover our brother or sister's sins with forgiveness—not on our terms but on the Lord's, freely given, without stipulation, and at whatever personal cost or injury.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not charity, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Without forgiveness, our love is nothing like Christ's. Without Christ, we cannot love in a manner that saves our erring brother or sister. Charity, then, saves not only those who do us wrong but also protects us from sin and prepares us for the end of days when Christ will come in love to save us from judgment. Consider this: it's hard to sin when we are loving like Christ. Be sober, be prayerful, but above all things, maintain fervent charity among yourselves. Amen.
