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“JUDGE ME O GOD”
Saint John 8.46-59
Judica: 25 March Anno Domini 2012
Father Jay Watson SSP
In the Name + of Jesus
Many try to “convince,” convict, accuse, slander, and blame the Lord of sin—of being at fault, wrong, and bad. The pagans do it to score debating “points” but since they don’t really believe in the Lord it’s somewhat moot. Sinners blame God all the time; it’s called self-justification. Eve and Adam started it; you’ve turned it into an art-form.
You “know,” that is you believe, that the Lord is The Truth incarnate and that His Words are life. Yet, your fallen nature resists hearing and doing His Word, that is, believe and trust. You either ignore His Word or you try and take the “edge” off what It really means. A safe and non-threatening Word can be managed, mollified, and “kept” to a fairly high degree of completion. Repent of your Phariseeism.
The Words of Jesus are Jesus and He is all of His vocables. The Words and the Word Made Flesh are Who He is and What He does—did, and continues to do! He took Abram out of his own country, his own “works,” and out of his own “self” and adopted him. He planted Abram into the Promise; He fed Abram his bread and gave him cool water from the wells of peace. Abram’s life from pagan to “Father of nations” is your own story of Baptismal + regeneration and sustenance by the Words and Word made flesh. One of Abram’s sons rejected this Grace. Many of Abram’s sons (poor Moses found this out first hand) rejected Grace and went whoring after self. Adam’s descendents are a pitiable lot. The real reason the Gospel does not always satisfy you is that you’re still busy gnawing on the bones of your brothers and yourselves—covetous cannibals of pride. The real reason the Word of the Lord is not as sweet to your taste as it should be is that you have not let the law rinse out your mouth from the blood of your enemies and adversaries. Repent. Learn of the Law what the Law really says and you will be on your knees begging the Lord to wash not just your feet but your head and your whole body.
Don’t lie about what the Lord says to you; receive it. He is not a Samaritan, a half-breed bastard, but the God/Man. He is here in this place to help you. He is not a devil but Creator, Savior and Sustainer. You’re already created, you see that, but don’t you want to be sustained…not only in your body and spirit now, but forever and ever? Don’t you want the emptiness to be filled and the fear and anger to go away? Let Him sustain you.
“If any man keep my saying, he shall never see death” The Word of the Lord; the Words of the Word made flesh. Christ is not telling the Jews, or you, to obey his commandments, to do things, to toughen up, and be made eternal by your self-righteousness. Christ is saying keep His Words, which is keeping Him—believing, guarding, holding, trusting and relying in Him—faith by Grace—and it a gift of the Holy Ghost!
Unbelief will always reject the fact that “self” is helpless and damned. Unbelief will always chafe and rebel and the goodness of God because it always produces a goodness in His children to love their neighbors and their Lord. Unbelief will always argue against the proposition that the Nazarene is the great “I AM,” the Word at Genesis 1, the One walking in the cool of the garden, the presence in the burning bush speaking with Moses, the Angel of deliverance for the Hebrews, the pillar of Fire and Cloud, the One seated on the throne talking with Esaias. Unbelief will always recoil at a crucifix and the stark Gospel that it is God hanging bloody and beaten on the tree at Calvary; that the man born of the Virgin, is dying not just for generic “sin” and for the those nasty people, but that His sinless Body so marred is given for your daily sins and that His pure Blood so freely flowing from cruel cuts is shed for your daily sins. The Gospel will never be the Gospel unto any of you until you feel the death of YOUR sin, and until you have faith in these words: “Given and shed FOR YOU—FOR YOU!”
Father Abraham believed the Words of the Word and “that,” “it” his belief, his faith, worked by Grace—God the Holy Ghost gifting Abraham the faith in the Faithful One Christ the Lord—is what was counted to Abraham for his righteousness. The Righteous One, the Pierced and Blood One, the Crucified One, Who He is and what He would do—was credited to Abraham. Abraham “kept that saying” guarded that Word, was in that Jesus and that Jesus kept Abraham….keeps Abraham until the day of the resurrection of all flesh. And Abraham rejoices in that Word never seeing death.
Yes Abraham rejoiced to see Christ, but He saw the Savior only provisionally in Words, Promise, and “Type;” veiled, if you will. You dear saints, rejoice to see Christ fulfilling all the blessed Gospel promises. You rejoice to have the New Testament witness, the words of the martyrs, apostles and evangelists. You rejoice to have the very Testator Himself here this morning, (still) partially hidden under bread and wine and water and absolution. No blood of bulls and goats for you, but the Blood of Christ the Paschal Lamb poured into your holy vessels. Your consciences are purged from dead works to serve the living God.
Passiontide begins today—Judica Sunday, but you have already been judged and found not-guilty. You are not guilty because you have no guilt, you are declared innocent because the innocent Christ carried your guilt to the tree of justice and paid the ultimate penalty. And now, this morning, every Lord’s Day, your great High Priest, and Brother, wishes to serve you the fruits of His Justice and Righteousness—the eternal inheritance of Himself.
In the Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
