St. Peter's 

Anglican Church

14th Sunday after Pentecost-The Cure

Readings:

Exodus 32:7-14 ‘The golden calf’

Psalm 51:1-11 Miserere mei, Deus

1 Timothy 1:12-17 ‘Paul, worst of sinners’

Luke 15:1-10 Parable of the 99 and the ten.

Additional:

Rom 8:1-4,13,14. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit…For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Collect: O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Diagnosis: We are sinful and broken categorically

● Iniquity: The Psalm born/in our nature a bent toward sin

● Poor Character: The Golden Calf; when faced with challenges, fear, unknown, discomfort—we choose poorly. Despite a knowledge of God and experience of His power we turn to empty things. Short term pleasures.

● Foolishness: biblical definition confusion of good with moral failure. What is evil seems good to us.

● Pride: Saul the Pharisee: the certainty of being right or better than others profoundly blinds us to what IS right. Pride can make the sincerely religious foolish. True righteousness only exists in the context of great humility.

The Prognosis: suffering, isolation, destruction, death.

● This disease is not something that afflicts us, or sits apart from us. The disease is ourselves, our desires and choices. To find a solution we first take responsibility for it. While there are many things that influence our souls, it is ultimately our own choices that bring death.

The Cure: knowing the problem is a start, but like the Mosaic law, there is no healing in the knowledge, only assurance of our condemnation.

● The Cure: 1st lesson from the Gospel reading. We have a relentless God who pursues us in compassion and through the sacrifice of Christ works to change us through the operation of His Holy Spirit.

Work of the Spirit

● Regeneration: life breathed in our hearts. It gives us ears to hear and eyes to see truth and the very Gospel.

● Transformation:

● Recognition of His person and work and asking for His work in your life,

● Submission—choosing to wait, listen, learn, and do His work.

● Faith/Expectation —believing in His work and that it is better than what we can imagine

● Empowerment—power to be and do according to God’s plan for His Kingdom.