Romans 8,18-25 5323
25. Trinitatis 72
Josaphat, Patron saint of Ukraine. Bishop and Martyr 1623
12. November 2023
1. ℣ Have mercy upon me, O Yahweh, for I am in trouble:
℟ Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me (Psa 31,9a.15b).
O Lord Jesus Christ, Defender of Your people; remember Your congregation which You have purchased of old, so that we, Your Church, rejoice in the redemption You have paid for our heritage. Amen. (Psalm 74,4.2a Gradual)
2. »For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation is awaiting with eager expectation the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not voluntarily but because of Him having subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we have known that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves having the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly waiting eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope being seen is not hope; for who is hoping for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we await it with patience.«
3. With the final 3 Sundays after Trinity, the Church looks forward to the return of Christ. The Gospel lessons focus on judgment and the last day. Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that we are already living under God’s judgment. He mentions the the sufferings of this present time, and we certainly have those today: 2 years of war in Ukraine, the slaughter of 1400 Israelis and a month-long retaliation that has leveled towns in Gaza, killed hundreds of Palestinians and made thousands more refugees.
4. Paul tells us that creation was subjected to futility and in bondage to corruption. Creation has been cursed by God as a consequence of Adam’s sin, cursed so as to cause Adam and Eve’s descendants to suffer as a result. People like to talk about climate change, but the climate changed the moment God cursed creation and it changed more drastically as a result of the Flood. Natural disasters, famine, pestilence and plague all come from creation hat has been cursed. Creation groans in response to this curse; creation was meant to benefit and less men and women but now it also hurts and harms us as temporal punishment for our sinfulness.
5. Paul assures us that creation will be set free from its bondage, and indeed the grip of that bondage has already loosened. Christ crucified has born the judgment of our Heavenly Father; payment for sin has been made; Christ became a curse for us so that through Him we are made holy. The apostle states it beautifully in his Epistle to the Galatians: »Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree [Deuteronomy 21,23]— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith« (3,13-14). Also the Epistle to the Hebrews declares: »And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of all, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him« (9,27-28). And 1. Corinthians: »When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? [Isaiah 25,8; Hosea 13,14] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ« (15,54-57).
6. Creation reacted to Christ’s crucifixion: darkness covered the land from 12 noon - 3 pm, there was an earthquake and rocks split. Creation mourned at the suffering and death of its Creator, testified to His great sacrifice and heralded for men and women the restoration He had accomplished for fallen humanity and cursed creation. At Christ’s 2. advent creation will herald His arrival: there will be portents in the heavens, the earth and sea will give up their buried dead and the clouds will be Christ’s chariot.
7. Peter writes in his 2. Epistle: »For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But the day of the Lord will arrive like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the advent of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells« (2. Peter 3,5-7.10-13).
8. This will be the culmination of the removal of creation’s curse. God will renew creation for resurrected men and women to dwell upon. All this occurs when Christ returns at His 2. advent. Creation longs for this day; we look forward in hope, confident expectation, for that day; Christ will give us a new body, a new heaven and a new earth to enjoy eternal fellowship in His midst.
9. We wait for You, content to share
In patience, days of trial;
So meekly You the cross did bear,
For our sin and denial.
We gladly now receive with You
Your cross of shame and sorrow,
Until the promised morrow.
(Wir warten dein, o Gottes Sohn selk 504,2 2021 Philipp Friedrich Hiller 1767)
This is most certainly true.
10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
11. Let us pray. Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, Giver of light and life, so teach us those things which belong to the heavenly kingdom and those duties which are of the earth that we, stirred by the light and life of the peace of God, may be enabled faithfully to do the things committed to us, looking ever unto Thee for light and life that, being lifted above ourselves, the life of God in the soul of man may be ours. Amen. (25. Trinity, Vespers Collect 1. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
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