Eucharistic Meditation, Second Sunday of Easter

Eucharistic Meditation, Second Sunday of Easter April 23, 2006

2 Kings 16:7: Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am your servant and your son.

As we’ve seen in the sermon this morning, the changes Ahaz makes to the temple are intended to ingratiate himself to Tiglath-pileser and reflect Ahaz’s chastened sense of his own position in the world. Yahweh said the Davidic kings were sons of Yahweh; but Ahaz declares himself a son of Tiglath-pileser. Yahweh says that the Davidic kings are enthroned next to Him in his temple; Ahaz wants to cut off the cord that links his palace to Yahweh’s. Yahweh says that Israel is the source of living water for the world; Ahaz, with an apparent show of humility, changes the temple to reflect Israel’s modest place within empire.


This is unbelief, and a kind of apostasy. But it’s unbelief disguised as humility, and can be mistaken for virtue. And it is the kind of unbelief disguised as humility that often infects the Christian church and Christians.

God has said, “Your sins are forgiven.” He said that at the beginning of the service, when I pronounced the absolution. But even after we have heard that declaration, we often flagellate ourselves, mope and mourn, fear and tremble as if He has not forgiven us. We substitute our own “humble” judgment for God’s absolution. God has said, “You are enthroned in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” but we say we are lower than worms. With false humility, we cancel what God has said about us, and, like Ahaz, proudly substitute our own words, and our own judgments, for God’s. With false humility we assign ourselves different names than the ones God gave us, and declares ourselves sons of another father.

But how can we know? How can I be sure that the things the Bible says are really about me? How can I know that God is talking to me when he says “You are forgiven” and “You are sons of the king of heaven” and “You are enthroned in heavenly places”? Well, look around. Where are you? You’re at the Lord’s table, ready to eat a meal with Jesus: That’s a clear sign He accepts you. You are at the Lord’s table: That’s a clear sign that He wants you in His family, as a member of His household, a sign that you are sons of God rather than sons of any worldly empire. You are at the Lord’s table, a table of kings, and you’re here because you’re a king or a queen, a prince or a princess of the realm.

You are here. God is saying to all of you who are here: I love you, you are sons of the king, you are seated in heavenly places, you are kings and priests to God. Believe what God says when He invites you here, and live like you believe it.


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