Thought for Today
Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner."
Psalm 62:1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Matthew 6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The theme for this week in the devotional guide These Days has been “The Soul Alone with God.” I found it interesting that only on Ash Wednesday did the author use the passage from Matthew 6 as the reference scripture.
Christians live in a state of dynamic tension between ‘the soul alone with God’ and the idea of our being part of a family of faith. My mind has been especially focused this week on the theme of family of faith since we will be welcoming a couple into our faith family Sunday when they join our congregation. The ‘family theme’ is one of my favorites. I often use the phrase ‘family of faith’ in my writings and in my sermons.
If you are a student of the history of our faith, you probably have encountered the term Christendom. I use it often, but do not often find it used in much of anything I read. My theological dictionary defines it as “A collective sense of Christianity itself.” Wikipedia offers “Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian empires, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails or that it is culturally or historically intertwined with.”
I understand Christendom as the worldwide family of God’s children who understand and accept the words of Paul, “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-“ I believe that Paul understood the word faith in terms of Jesus’ own words, “John 8:31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’"
Free from enslavement to the Mosaic Law. Free from being lost in sin. Free to be both a soul alone with God and a member of the family of God’s children. For some (many? most?) this raises the obvious and immediate questions “How about everyone else? Can they be saved? Can they be in eternity with God? Thankfully, I am not responsible for the answer! Only God can decide who does or does not get into Heaven.
I can only decide my own fate; I can only decide whether or not I will accept the grace God has freely gifted me through my faith. But, merely to say “I believe” is not enough. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to stop at saying “I believe” would be “cheap grace.” He contrasts that cheap grace with “costly grace.” Costly grace is the life changing and thereby life affirming true belief. It is understanding Jesus’ words about truth.
The truth of which Jesus spoke is that true belief changes who we were into who we may become. It is the truth of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It is the truth which illuminates Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, "Luke 22:19 This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me" and "20 This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Tomorrow, when we welcome the newest members into our congregational family of faith, we will all reaffirm our faith, our belief. We will acknowledge our and their part in the world of that state of dynamic tension between ‘the soul alone with God’ and the idea of our being part of a family of faith. Actually, part of both our congregational family and our broader, worldwide family, Christendom. Where Ezekiel saw wheels with wheels, I see families within a greater family.
We pray singularly, we pray corporately. We pray aloud and we pray silently. Our souls are alone with God and our souls are with God as we are amidst our family and families of faith. Most importantly, alone, in secret, within our family . . . we are with God.
Stay safe, be with God, trust God,
Pastor Ray