Fifth Sunday of Easter - Cantate (29 April, 2018)

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You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.  "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.  "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.  Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."  Isaiah 12:1-6

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!  Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.  All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." Selah  Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.  He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations-- let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah  Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard.  Psalm 66:1-8

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  James 1:16-21

"But now I am going to Him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.  And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you."  John 16:5-15

Sometimes we need to be reminded where to focus.  Even when we are mindful of Christ and His resurrection, we have our squabbles, our worries, our pet peeves.  We know the story of salvation but get "hung up" on something.  It may be a worthwhile issue, or it may be we are making mountains out of mole hills.

We are reminded, time and time again, where our focus should be.  James admonishes us to be "quick to hear, slow to speak."  That doesn't mean we do not speak when there is something that need be said.  But rather we are to hold back, consider our words, and remember that we are by nature sinful and unclean.  That is why we are told to be "slow to anger."

It is not that anger is without place.  Jesus got angry.  God's anger burned against sinners numerous times, and most specifically at the Cross, where Christ bore that anger.  But God is perfect.  He cannot be angered in sin.  We, though, by nature, do everything in sin.

That is why we are to be temperate, slow to "knee-jerk reactions."  This is one of the few times someone who was wrong can be looked to as an example.  In the book of Job we hear about Job's friends who sat and listened to laments and complaints patiently.  They did not respond immediately to Job with "oh, it'll be alright," or "buck up, son."  They waited and listened.  Now, their responses were incorrect, because they spoke not out of faith provided by the Holy Spirit.

That is what Christ promised us: the Comforter.  We are told "He [the Holy Spirit] will guide you into all the truth."  And where do we find this third person of the Trinity?  In Scripture.

Christ is admonishing us to keep in God's word.  That is our resource and rule until His return.  Our lives and responses should be shaped by Scripture.  Most especially Christ's death and resurrection.