God, the Promise Keeper
- davidwperk
- Jun 18, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Proper 6, the week of the fourth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
You will find the full text of today’s epistle reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 971)
AM Psalm 78:1-39; PM Psalm 78:40-72
Num. 11:1-23; Rom. 1:16-25; Matt. 17:22-27
Today we celebrate the Feast of Bernard Mizeki. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Does God keep promises? Can God be counted on to keep faith with the expectations created by the promise of future salvation in the Old Testament? According to today’s Epistle, Paul would answer with a resounding “yes.” He claims that God’s righteousness, in this case that divine promise-keeping faithfulness, is being shown in the story of Jesus. In Jesus God has kept the promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 that in his descendants all the people of the earth would be blessed. (The word group, righteous, righteousness has a complex field of meaning. Here, covenant faithfulness seems the primary thrust.)
Paul also claims that God’s wrath, the persistent divine resistance to every will set against God’s, also is being revealed in the message of salvation by faith in Christ. Faith creates a dynamic, an insider/outsider division. People respond to the demand for faith in Christ either with a “yes” or a “no” or a “not yet.” Those responses create a boundary along the lines of Christian community versus those outside that community.
Paul saw the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises in Jesus. He held a firm conviction that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and the Gospel message of that saving work brings God’s saving love and power to bear in the life of the believing listener; that saving power demonstrates God’s promise-keeping faithfulness. As he put it in 2 Corinthians 1, all God’s promises are “yes” and “amen” in Jesus. I feel touched by that viewpoint—God has said “yes” to us in Christ.
So, to be unashamed of the Christian message has to do with something other than merely being unembarrassed to be identified as a Christian. Rather, it has to do with a rousing sense of confidence that God will accomplish the divine mission to save and transform humankind through the Christian mission. Therefore, Paul can dive into the mission of the Gospel without hesitation, because he has such strong confidence.
We could use a dose of that confidence in our daily lives. Just how will the world turn out? How will our individual lives turn out? According to Paul’s vision, God will succeed in the intent to redeem, deliver, and transform humankind. Paul could even say of the resistant Israelites of his day, “All Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). And, he makes this remarkable assertion a few verses later, “God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.” (Rom. 11:32)
In my half-century-plus of ministry, that certainty about God’s mission through the Gospel has kept me going when circumstances proved challenging. God’s saving mission will continue and triumph. We don’t allow institutional failures or setbacks to define our reality. God’s mission goes forward unrelentingly. If we live with that confidence, we will throw ourselves more unreservedly into the work of sharing our witness, working mercy and justice in the world, and building up the Christian community through our own participation.
Poet Jane Clement quotes French theologian Phillipe Vernier to begin one of her poems. ““Faith is the energy the Master gives you which enables you to take hold of His promises and to participate in His life.” + I would paraphrase “God’s promises” and “God’s life.” I resonate with that image, faith as energy. Do you?
+Phillipe Vernier, cited by Jane T. Clement, Selected Poems, 1931-1991: No One Can Stem the Tide (Farmington, PA: Bruderhof Foundation, 2004), p. 140.
Collect of the Day, Proper 6, the Week of the fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 230)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Bernard Mizeki, catechist and martyr (died 18 June 1896).
Collect of the Feast of Bernard Mizeki
Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant unto us your servants a like faith and power of love, that we, who rejoice in his triumph, may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen. (BCP, 123)
For the Nation
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP,258)
A Prayer for Light
Almighty God, we give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy that, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)
Daily Office Epistle, Romans 1:16-25
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’ 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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