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The Scriptures, Christ and Unity

Preached at St. Barnabas Church, Bellville, TX

Second Sunday in Advent, 2008

by The Rev. Stephen E. Stults

Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Today, we celebrate the Second Sunday in Advent, better known as “Holy Scriptures Sunday,” or simply, “Bible Sunday.” Recall that our Collect for the day asks us, in regards to the Scriptures, to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ.”

In other words, it is through the Scriptures that we Christians learn to hope in Christ, and it is from the Scriptures that we Christians learn how to be like Christ. We learn to be Christ-like following our Lord’s example in the Gospels, and we learn the applications of these lessons in the words of the Apostles given to us in the Epistles. These lessons, when combined with the prophetic and historic underpinning of the Old Testament, give us modern-day Christians a complete picture of God’s Will for His people, the Church.

This particular Sunday, we give thanks to God for the wonderful gift of the Word Written. What a wonderful gift it is indeed! Not only do the Holy Scriptures give us a “blueprint,” if you will, for our lives in a moral and ethical sense, but they also allow us to invoke the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let me explain. We Christians study the Word for its moral and ethical content. We do this on Sunday; when we read together a Psalm, listen to an Old Testament lesson, followed by the Epistle and the Gospel selection appointed for the day. The purpose of this, of course, is to make sure that we ground our worship in Scripture. We hear the teachings of Christ and we hear the Apostles’ exposition of the same theme in the various Epistle readings. Thus, our moral and ethical path should be clear to us, illuminated by God’s Holy Word.

The Holy Bible is, however, more than just a collection of moral teachings. St. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” The actual Greek word translated as “inspiration” is qeopneustoς (“theopneustos”), or literally “God breathed.” Thus, being the God-breathed Word, the Scriptures are actually alive with the Spirit of God. When we study them, either corporately, or in our own private devotions, we actually have the aid of the Holy Spirit in reading, learning, marking, and inwardly digesting them. In fact, in order to make any real sense of the Bible, we need the help of the Holy Spirit Himself to unlock the wisdom and the sense contained within.

Allow me to share a brief personal story concerning this. While at Sewanee, we were required to take some “religion” courses. Many, or most of these were heavily secularized, often focusing on Eastern or world religions, as one might expect from a university environment, even in a so-called Christian institution like Sewanee. In one of the courses, comparative religion, one of the requirements was to read the Gospel of Mark. Now, I confess that even by the time I had reached college age, I had not read the entire Bible. Like most Episcopalians, my Biblical knowledge was confined to the Scripture on Sunday morning, my readings to the lectionary of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which consisted mostly of the Epistle and Gospel for the week. While this is not a bad start, if all one does is this for a lifetime, one is missing out on a lot of great stuff. It is when one combines the weekly readings of the Sunday service with the daily readings of the Lectionary that one really begins to benefit.

But, I digress. Although I was initially excited to read Mark, as even then God was calling me to greater knowledge in Him, I found Mark pretty tame stuff. Maybe it was because I had heard a great deal of it all my life. Maybe it was old hat. Maybe my heart just wasn’t ready to receive it. At any rate, I put it aside, giving it a nod, and went my merry way, which, at Sewanee in the 1970s, was quite merry. It wasn’t until after I had graduated and begun my insurance career that something happened.

Prompted by my good and godly sales manager, I read the book of Romans, along with a commentary. While I read, I was moved to pray as well. Evidently, the Holy Spirit saw fit to illumine me, for the Scriptures then became alive to me. I saw what Paul was saying in Romans about our innate knowledge of God, which many men seek to suppress. I saw the need for a Savior when the Holy Ghost allowed me to view my own sinfulness in all its ugliness. Most strikingly of all, I saw the awful and tremendous price our Lord and Savior Christ paid to redeem us.  Ever since that time, the Holy Bible has been a different book to me. Now, rather than a boring account of an ancient people, it’s fascinating history, glorious prophecy, and wonderful, Spirit-led acts of God through his People. That’s why I believe that reading the Word of God and meditating on it actually invokes the power of the Holy Spirit upon us. Not in some superstitious or magical way, but rather in a rich spiritual diet that only the Holy Ghost can provide. In short, when we read the Holy Word of God, the Holy Spirit is there. The more we read and meditate and pray, the more the Holy Spirit finds us a fit dwelling-place. The more that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the freer, the happier, and more joyful we become. As we seek God, God rewards us with the very best that He has, Himself. The result of this is that we derive more joy out of life, now and forever.

With that thought in mind, let us turn our attention to what St. Paul is telling us in today’s Epistle from the 15^th chapter of Romans. First of all, he says, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Paul is saying, rightly, that we are to take comfort in God’s Holy Word and from it derive patience. Of course, this makes sense, but to what Scriptures, I must ask, is he referring? Is he speaking of the Gospels? Possibly Paul was, but not as we know them today, although they were early manuscripts of Mark and Luke, just beginning their circulation. John had not yet written, predated by Matthew. Is he referring to his own letters? Possibly, but his writings hadn’t yet achieved the wide circulation and the Undivided Church’s approbation to be called “Scripture.” More likely, he is referring, amazingly enough, to the Old Testament.

He is referring to first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, and the books of the Law, called the Torah, as well as the various prophecies, especially Isaiah, from whom many of our Advent readings come.

This is certainly amazing, because these early Christians, with the help of the Apostles, saw Christ clearly in these books. Bp. Lightfoot once remarked about the total unity of the Scriptures, saying, “In the Old, the New concealed; in the New, the Old revealed.” We Anglicans have always held a view of the totality, or unity of the Scriptures, knowing that Christ is found in both the Old and New Testaments. We reject any division of the Testaments, but rather believe both Old and New are both pieces of one seamless cloth. Both Testaments bear witness to Christ.

St. Paul confirms this when he says, “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name” (Romans 15:9). Christ was indeed sent unto the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), as he once said to the Canaanite woman who sought healing for her daughter. Christ, through the magnificent mercy and wisdom of God, was sent to Israel to fulfill all prophecy. That generation of Jews actually saw the ancient prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus, but were unable to receive it.

Yet, according to prophecy, he came.

St. Paul then links this thought with the glorious hope of our salvation when he says,  “And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name” (Romans 15:9). Paul now quotes the Old Testament, when he says, “And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people” (Romans 15:10-11). He caps this with a stirring reference to Isaiah 11:10: "And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.”

Thus, St. Paul preaches Christ out of the Old Testament. He exhorts his readers thus: ^“That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:6). Paul ends this particular passage with a beautiful prayer: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

Thus, St. Paul teaches us out of the Scriptures. Without a doubt, he has illustrated the unity of the Word of God, both Old and New Testaments. He calls on his flock to be like-minded and believe wholeheartedly in the salvation that is theirs through Jesus Christ. He accomplishes all of this using the Old Testament and his own accounts of the power of Jesus Christ. How much better, or better said, how much more fortunate are we to have the entire Word of God right at our fingertips? How blessed are we to have our daily Lectionary to guide us, morning and evening, through this wonderful tapestry of history, hope, and salvation? We are, indeed, immeasurably blessed.

My prayer for you this Advent season is that you take advantage of the Scriptures, morning and evening, to refresh your mind, spirit and soul. There is no better time. During this Advent, all of us have an opportunity to prepare for the Messiah.

We have two choices. We can be engulfed by the secular tide of the “Holiday” season, with its relentless emphasis on merchandise and merrymaking. Or, we can also stand gently aloof from it, strengthened by the Word of God and the blessed Holy Spirit as we prepare a place in our heart for the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords this coming Christmas.

The choice is ours, the time is now. May we make the most of this Advent Season. Amen.

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