St. Luke's Day 2015

St. Luke’s Day 2015 (Luke 4:14-21)

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus is the Good News.

Jesus is the Good News that God is real, God is love and God is personal.

Jesus is the Good News that there is no condemnation in God.

Jesus is the Good News that God loves us just as we are despite our failings, imperfections and open rebellion against him.

Jesus is the Good News that God loves us so much he will help us grow, mature and transform.

Do you believe this?

A basic biblical principle is: as you believe so shall you receive.

If you exist in a state of fear, frustration, anger and resentment you will see the world in those terms. You will interpret every aspect of life as a threat to be met with resistance. You will impose a rigid, inflexible and uncompromising grid of belief on all of your experiences and perceptions. You will miss the abundant life God the Father designed for you in the here and now.

Jesus, and only Jesus, can set us free from fear. Jesus and only Jesus is the union of humanity with divinity. Jesus and only Jesus is the incarnation of the co-eternal word of God- the very pattern of the universe and our species.

God the Father created all of us and each of us by the power of the Holy Spirit according to the pattern of the co-eternal Son. As the incarnation of the co-eternal Son Jesus is the meaning and purpose of life. We are less human as we persist in separation from the Beloved Son. We become more human as we receive the gift of reunification with the Father through the Son. We become more complete as we open our minds, hearts and wills to the transforming presence of God the Holy Spirit who indwells our souls.

The pattern of salvation is the pattern of a rich, active, dynamic abundant life in Jesus Christ. It is a life fully engaged in the duality of life- the pleasure and the pain, the joy and the sorrow, the life and the death. What makes life in Christ and with Christ unique is the real presence of Jesus in our midst, in our souls and in our way of living with duality.

Neither law based or knowledge based religion can cope with duality, Neither can the various secular political ideologies. Only love based faith manifesting through grace can hold the duality of existence. Only Jesus can accomplish the promise of God that all things will work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

The purpose of God is the love of God. The purpose of God is the co-eternal Beloved of God. Only Jesus unites and transforms. He can do this because he is the love of God personified.

 Have you made a real choice to accept reunification with the Father through the Son? Have you pledged your loyalty to Jesus Christ? Have you chosen to be found by the Beloved?

For those who have made that choice, are you growing? Are you surrendering the obstacles and barriers to love? Are you making a choice to pay attention to the Helper, the Holy Spirit as He works with you to reform the image and likeness of the Beloved in your soul?

God does not demand people to submit to an external law through fear. God invites us to surrender to His love by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God the Father sent Jesus into the world to become our forever friend. Jesus is the loyal, trustworthy and faithful friend who is always with us and always for us. He is the plan of salvation. He is the way of abundant life.

As we follow the plan of salvation we enter into the Way of the Beloved. As we enter into the Way of the Beloved we will grow and transform and experience the original blessing of the Beloved in every aspect of our lives. We will change. In that change, we will become a blessing to other people. God the Father will send the Holy Spirit to invite people to meet Jesus here at St. Luke’s. As we walk in the Way of Jesus, the way of divine love, the way of salvation, we will in our own lives and in the life of this parish fulfill the scriptures as Jesus fulfilled the scriptures. We will experience the original blessing of God and become the present blessing of God for everyone we meet.