5th Sunday after Pentecost July
5, 2015
2 Corinthians 12:9 Grace
Alone is Grace Enough
Dear fellow redeemed,
To live by grace is to pack light.
* Try identifying
with the disciples in today’s Gospel.
Jesus sends the twelve out two by two.
They are to take nothing for their journey except a staff no bread, no bag, no money;
not a second
carry on; not even an extra tunic to cover up with at night!
What motivated these men?
* It was very
simple. They weren’t thinking of what they had to do to make it to the next
day.
It was all about
the message their Lord had taught them.
Grace Alone is
Grace Enough.
* The Lord would
take care of them. If Christ had
supplied everything they needed for
eternal life,
they certainly would receive what they needed for today and tomorrow.
It’s something many Christians and theologians have struggled with
throughout the years.
God’s grace is too simple and wonderful to believe. So they try to water down its meaning.
* You may recall the
consensus document that was adopted by certain Lutherans and Roman
Catholics in the
mid-nineties. How could you get both
sides to agree on what God’s grace is?
* Is saving grace
God’s undeserved favor, the Lutheran answer?
Or is such grace
a spiritual power that’s poured into the soul, the Roman Catholic answer?
* The two
definitions have nothing in common.
How could they
possibly reach a consensus?
* Well, they never
resolved the question. They simply
agreed that we’re saved by grace alone
because of the
working of the Holy Spirit.
* In the end, both
sides failed in making their case.
Neither side could say unequivocally
that there’s
nothing we must do to get to heaven; to make it to the next day.
* Liberal scholars
have always been afraid to believe it; that God’s grace is enough.
Instead of trusting absolutely in what Christ has done to
save us, they insist on making it
about their
life. There’s gotta be something I must
do to make it to the next day.
And of course the next day could represent our next lifetime, or
it could represent tomorrow;
twenty-four hours from now.
* And it brings to
mind another use of the word grace in the Greek; not what we would
refer to as saving
grace, but the effects of God’s grace, what he pours into us, so to speak.
* It’s this second
use of the word grace that’s used in today’s text.
When God tells
Paul, My grace is sufficient for
you he’s informing the
apostle that he
can deal with his thorn in the flesh because God’s grace
has produced in him every gift
the Holy Spirit promises; peace and comfort and strength
and assurance and hope and
joy.
* When all is said
and done, whether we wish to make it to the next life or make it to
tomorrow, Grace Alone is Grace Enough.
Well, thats wonderful news.
* But we tend to
spend more time thinking about making it to tomorrow than we do making
it to our life in heaven.
And it explains a question we’ll ask when we suffer for long
periods of time.
* I know Gods
grace is enough to get me to heaven, but is it enough to get me through
this life? The
popular opinion today is that we need to remain strong and on top of
things at all times.
* And its quite possible that Paul, in his early days as a
servant, was of this same opinion.
I really doubt
whether, early in his ministry, he had a full appreciation of Gods grace.
* The Apostle, as
you know, was able to do many things for the Lord.
He had great
knowledge and ability. He had founded
many mission congregations
bringing the
saving message of the Gospel to countless towns and cities.
He had written
Scripture.
* Paul may have
thought that the Lord would let him remain healthy and strong since he
was serving Lord
in such an important way.
* The apostle needed
to be reminded of something regarding God’s grace.
The Lord gives it
to the undeserving.
* And so it was in
time that despite Paul’s success, he was given a bodily burden or illness.
The exact nature
of it we dont know. What we do know is
that he asked the Lord three
times to take
away what he called his thorn in the flesh.
* But the Lords
responded, My grace is sufficient for
you.
Grace Alone is Grace Enough!
Even so, the opinion remains to this day: I must remain strong
and healthy to be the best servant.
* And it would seem most of the world feels this way.
To suffer doesnt
make sense. It makes life a waste.
1 Our thorn may be that person whos constantly putting us
down.
We aren’t trusted
to do our job; or we’re not trusted to be the kind of mother or father or
husband or wife we might be.
2 Or our thorn may be our schedule. We’d like to spend more time with our spouse
and our
family. But we
haven’t developed the ability to just say no to everybody else.
3 Or our thorn may be our position at work. We’re constantly put in the middle of things
and we don’t know how to stand up to either side.
4 Or our thorn may be that worsening condition of ours thats
robbing us of the chance to
enjoy our golden years; that throbbing pain; that
growing dependence on others.
* We get to the point where we just want to call it quits; give
into this thorn of ours.
* You may be
reminded of coming from a family with bigger brothers and constantly being
picked on.
Frank has got you pinned and he’s not going to let you go,
not until you say the magic
word. So you
finally concede. All right! You win!
I give up! Uncle!
* It’s how we may
sometimes see our life. We just want to
scream.
Maybe then our
God of grace will take notice of us for just a moment.
* All right! You
win! Grace Alone is Grace Enough!
Just get it to stop!
Enough is enough!
Well, if were not able to make sense out of the sufferings of St.
Paul, or our own suffering, or the
suffering of loved ones, we should know were not alone. In this life, after all, well never be able
to make complete sense out of them.
* But don’t conclude
from this, that Gods grace is sometimes lacking or not enough.
Gods grace is
enough when we realize why were here on this earth.
* We’re here not to
remain strong or to make a name for ourselves.
We’re here to
make a name for our Lord.
* Imagine the
temptation that St. Paul faced to think of himself as someone very important.
It wasnt difficult to measure his success: the countless
converts he had brought to Christ;
the many congregations he had started; to say nothing of
how far the Gospel had spread
geographically as a result of his efforts.
* He was well loved
and respected. Grace alone? What did he
need that for?
* But this thorn in
the flesh would keep him humble.
It would help him
keep his perspective. He was just a
human being.
And as a human,
he was the Lords instrument.
Having said this, we can understand the Lords response when Paul
asked to have his thorn removed.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.
* That is to say,
God could not work through someone who did not consider himself weak and
was hung up on
himself. Such a person wouldn’t wish to
make a name for the Lord.
Hed slip back
into the mindset of the world and try making a name for himself.
* And thats what
Paul came to understand.
He knew that
without that thorn hed very likely become puffed up; hung up on himself.
And he didn’t
want that any more than the Lord did.
* That’s why he
would say eventually: Therefore I will boast all
the more gladly of my
weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
* Paul had found
contentment in his suffering, for he came to realize that it wasnt a proud,
perfect Paul the
Lord would use. It was a limited,
defective Paul he would use.
* It was in this way
that he’d make a name for the Lord.
Thats how the Lord works today.
* The most powerful
confession of faith often comes not from the pulpit but the hospital
bed or the humble
confines of ones home.
* We might think
back on former parishioners from Triune God.
I speak of your
mother or wife, your grandmother or daughter.
Her hours on
earth are few. But she’s neither
pessimistic nor subdued.
* Instead, she
listens as you read from Scripture about heaven and the last day. Or she
smiles at her pastor who speaks of the resurrection of her
Savior and every believer.
* And when shes
done listening, her words are faint but clear enough for you to hear.
Im ready for
Jesus to take me home!
Although shes being rejected by her own body, she has
every confidence that she will
not be rejected by her Lord.
Grace Alone is Grace Enough when
we realize why we are here on this earth; to hold up the
name of our Lord and bring attention to his grace.
* But theres a
second reason were here that well want to be aware of.
Were here so that we might be made ready for the day
well be taken home.
* Of course, here
too people hold to two very different beliefs.
1 Some believe that
we make ourselves ready for that day, and that we prepare ourselves
for the Lord by
making different changes in our lives.
We better our
attitude, we better our behavior.
2 Others believe, as
you and I do, that God makes us ready for the next life.
After all, we
could never get ourselves ready.
As St. Paul
reminds us (we) were dead in our
trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).
* Having been filled
with sin throughout our being, we were disabled spiritually.
Therefore God has
to be the one to go to work on us.
* And that he
does. He works on us through his Word
and sacraments.
He works on us
through the news about our Savior who would live and die for us and rise again.
* He gives us faith,
assuring us that Jesus is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours
only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
* By this simple
Word, with its wonderful message of grace, God saves us.
Its also what keeps us in the faith or restores our faith when we
stray.
* And that finally
is how were able to make sense out of the same suffering and burdens.
You see,
sometimes to get us deeper into that Word, our Lord uses lifes events; even
the
most trying events.
1 I speak of that worsening health of yours;
2 Or that individual who doesn’t believe you can function
properly as that parent or
husband or wife;
3 Or your unbelievable obligations which have deprived you of a
healthy family life.
4 Or that job that keeps you questioning whom you should defend
and whom you should
confront.
* As the Lord nudges
us a little deeper each year into his Word, we become a little more
ready to leave
this world behind. With each year we
find a little more comfort in the words of Christ.
Do not let your hearts be troubled . . . In my Fathers house are
many rooms . . .
I am going to
prepare a place for you.
* Do not be
troubled Jesus is saying: Gods grace is enough.
For there’s room
in my Fathers house for every last one of you.
To live by grace is to pack light.
* You don’t have to
weigh yourself down with thoughts of making it to the next life or the
next day.
In the words of
Jesus, do
not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious
for
itself. Sufficient for the day is its
own trouble (Matthew 6:34).
* Let God’s grace
have the final say, our Lord is telling us.
For we can count
on his grace even with regards to our suffering.
* The question is
not: can God get me through to tomorrow despite my suffering?
The question is: why does God get me through my
suffering? I’m nothing but a sinner!
* And the answer is, God is love. God operates by his grace.
Therefore God
desires that we learn from suffering; that we learn how Grace Alone is
Grace Enough.
* Consider, finally, Pauls words to the Romans: I consider that our present sufferings are
not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
* The glory of
heaven is more than enough to make up for every affliction and sorrow this
sinful world dishes out to us.
* So let our sorrows have their way until God’s grace and glory
have their say. Amen.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
