Bishop Eric Menees
“O
God, who declarest thy almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running to
obtain thy promises, may be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
One of the most
powerful and haunting movies I've ever seen is the movie Schindler's List. For several years, I watched it twice a year as I showed it to my Ethics
class at The Bishop's School. There is one scene in the movie where Oscar
Schindler - a self-serving profiteer of the war - comes to grips with the
reality of the evil of the Nazis. In that scene, Schindler is speaking with
Amon Goeth - a Labor Camp Commandant who is drunk with power and is randomly
shooting Jews in the labor camp from his rooftop patio; a course of action
giving credence to Lord John Dalberg-Acton's phrase: "Power corrupts:
absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Schindler:
Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we
don't.
Goeth:
You think that's power?
Schindler:
That's
what the Emperor said. A man steals something, he's brought in before the
Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for his life, he knows
he's going to die. And the Emperor... pardons him. This worthless man, he lets
him go.
Goeth:
I think you are drunk.
Schindler:
That's
power, Amon. That is power.
This week's Collect
captures the almighty power of God who, in fact, has every justification to
destroy His creation and simply start over, but instead shows mercy and pity.
God demonstrates this first with Noah, in His decision to never flood the earth
again (Genesis 8:20-21). God's mercy was shown in the saving of Isaac, the
firstborn son of Abraham (Genesis 22). Last week's lesson from Jonah also
demonstrated God's character - much to Jonah's displeasure - in saving the
people of Nineveh who repented. But, chiefly, God's love and mercy are
demonstrated by the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross for our
sins.
Jesus' death and
resurrection demonstrate God's mercy, but that does not mean that there are no
consequences for sin. We - each and every man, woman, and child ever born -
will one day stand before the great judgement seat of Christ. On that day, we
will not simply hope for, but count upon, God's character being unchanging.
God's character is to show love and mercy - as Jonah so aptly said: "This
is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious
God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to
relent from punishing." (Jonah 4:2)
The question isn't IS
God merciful - we know He is. The question is, what will WE DO in
response to the gift of His mercy? That is why this collect begs: "...grant
unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running to obtain thy promises,
may be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure…."
O God, in your great love inspire us to
be merciful, loving, and gracious to others, as you are to us! And to
that I say...AMEN.
Catechism
Questions # 19-21
ARTICLE I: FAITH IN GOD
“I
BELIEVE” -
Concerning the Creeds
19. What is a creed?
A creed is a statement
of faith. The word “creed” comes from the Latin credo, which
means “I
believe.”
20. What is the purpose
of the Creeds?
The purpose of the
Creeds is to declare and safeguard God’s truth about himself,
ourselves, and
creation, as revealed in Holy Scripture.
21. What does belief in
the Creeds signify?
Belief in the Creeds
signifies acceptance of God’s revealed truth, and the intention to live by
it.
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