Devotion
Rest In Righteousness
David Jacobs
Men are sinners by nature and action: all of us have sinned and all of us will sin. God is holy, he does not sin, cannot look upon it, and it is this that separates us from Him. This is the fundamental difference between humans and God.
God showed us mercy, however, by sending his only son, Jesus Christ, to live and die in sin for us. As the verse says, Jesus, "who knew no sin," was brought to the world so "that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." It is a lot of pressure, no doubt, that we must bear for the remainder of our lives. Compared to the pressure that Jesus felt, it is nothing. Jesus was holy, completely devoid of sin, made to be a sinner by his father so that we might be saved.
God would have been entirely within his right to leave us to our sinful ways, but it is out of His mercy and love that He entered a covenant with Christians. He has provided us a way to salvation if we keep the covenant of His works. This is what the entire Bible discusses, the covenant and the prophecy that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelations. Jesus has shown us the way, has humbled himself so that we may be made whole with God. Perhaps my favorite example, is from Matthew 3:13-15.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
John the Baptist knows that he is not worthy of being baptized by Christ. Jesus humbles him, showing us all how to treat one another as God would want.
Prayer
We truly are not worth of God's mercy and love. We are sinners, responsible even for the death of God's only son. Through God, however, we have our chance at redemption. We have a chance to rest in His righteousness, to be made whole with Him once again. The choice is ours. Thanks be to God.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
