Seventh Sunday of Easter - Exaudi (13 May, 2018)

Reboot

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.  And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.  I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God."  Ezekiel 36:22-28

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.  Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Psalm 51:1-12

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.  Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed.  If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  1 Peter 4:7-14

"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.  ...  I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.  But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you."  John 15:26-16:4

In a way, the story of salvation could be viewed as a universe-scale reboot.  Things were set into motion, and everything was good and functioning perfectly.  Then things got "buggy," to understate the dire depravity that came from the Fall.  A fix was needed.  Something more than a "band-aid solution" with a temporary solution.  No, a permanent fix.

The nation of Israel was to be a multi-faceted part of that plan to fix the universe.  On one hand, they were to be the example of how to live right with God.  They were directly given the Law, and taught how to live within that law.  They were also to be the messengers of God's promise of salvation, proclaiming the truth that they were given at Sinai to all.  Most importantly, they were to be the people who the Messiah would live among.

Unfortunately, Israel failed at the first two tasks.  They rejected the covenant God made with them and abandoned the promise given to Adam and Eve.  Numerous prophets were sent to call them to repentance.  God spoke through Ezekiel about how the chosen people of God have profaned His name instead of proclaimed it to the world.  On a personal level even David, the "man after God's own heart," royally screwed up.  When given to choice between what felt good and what was right, the king of Israel chose to satisfy himself instead of following God's law.  But David isn't anything special.  We are told that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23)

Our knee-jerk reaction, as humans, is to do what feels good for us.  Trouble comes our way and we want to either avoid it or ignore it so that we are not made uncomfortable.  Fight or flight.  We either run from our pains, or we fight back against the consequences of our actions, justifying what we've done based on some arbitrary standard.  Because God want's me to be happy, right?

That's not what Christ taught us.  He said "they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me."  Later in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the disciples that there will be trouble (16:33).  He doesn't say that they are to fight back, bury our heads in the sand, or run away.  Instead, St. Peter tells us not to be surprised that we are suffering because of the promise we proclaim.  People do not like being told that their actions are hurting themselves, other people, and God.  They fight back against the truth of the Law and Gospel.

We want to fight against that truth, too.  David struggled with the consequences of his sin.  His prayer of repentance should be our prayer.  Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.  And thanks to Christ's death and resurrection, we can boldly ask the Father for this forgiveness.