May 26, 2014 Monday Message

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

May 26, 2014 Monday Message

The Lord’s Prayer is often taught as an assembly of six petitions.  Nothing could be farther from the truth: for as soon as the prayer is finished, Jesus immediately emphasizes its single focal point in Matthew 6:14-15.

“For if you have forgiven men their trespasses, then Your heavenly Father will forgive you.  Yet if you have not forgiven [men their trespasses], neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Two things are immediately obvious.

We cannot possibly be members of God’s Kingdom of forgiveness if we are an unforgiving people.  There is no place in heaven for the person who refuses to forgive.  Stubborn refusal to forgive is a sure proof that real saving faith is absent from the cold inky blackness of such a dead heart.

We cannot possibly be members of God’s Kingdom of forgiveness if we cling to our sin, stubbornly refuse to admit that it is wrong, refuse to make confession, refuse to seek absolution, refuse to make amends, and refuse to find reconciliation.  This is just as evil as failing to forgive.  Deliberate persistence in sin is another sure proof that real saving faith is absent from the cold inky blackness of such a dead heart.

However, the doors of God’s kingdom are open wide to the sinner who stumbles and falls thousands of times every day; who, is spite of his or her many failures, still looks to God in faith, hope, and love, with real regret and remorse for all of these sins; and yet makes an honest and sincere effort to wage war against them by pursuing the life that is changed by grace.  Such a person lives with a broken and contrite heart, and the forgiveness of other sinners becomes easier every day.

For all of these reasons we cry out repeatedly, Lord have mercy (twelve times).

The reason for the twelve fold repetition is equally obvious.  When we realize our true estate we cannot cease crying out for God’s rich mercy, both for ourselves, for others, even our enemies and our friends, for those who hate us and those who hate us, as well as for the whole world, for all of the seven billion and more souls that inhabit this earth.  We merely stop at twelve in public services so that we can move on with the rest of the service.

Forgiveness and its attendant mercy are not options.  Neither are they pieces of a random collection.  Forgiveness and its attendant mercy are the main focal point.  Amen.