23rd Sunday after Pentecost 16.11.14 Patient trust
The fallen angels rebelled against God because they thought they were equal to Him, or better.
Humans do much the same thing. They will challenge God, put Him on trial, tell Him what He should be doing.
Human beings are capable of many things but we must remember where it all comes from.
It all hinges on this: can we believe we are created by someone higher than ourselves; or do we think we have just happened into existence, with no one above us?
We are tempted by the devil to throw off all subservience to God and so decide our own destiny.
This temptation is at its strongest when things go wrong for us, or when we meet difficulties.
It needs time for faith to show its fruits. We have become accustomed to things happening at lightning speed (eg computers). But we cannot always have lightning speed in matters of faith.
In fact some things take centuries or millennia to happen.
We have to let God do things His way. He is not obliged to tell us anything.
We can ask Him to make His power and goodness evident and He will do that. But there are times when He will leave us in the mists of unknowing, giving us a chance to grow in wisdom and faith.
We have to be patient with God.
Some of God's blessings are mainly for the future. Resurrection of the body is a case in point.
Many will say they don’t believe in life after death because they have never seen anyone come back.
Some people have come back, not least Jesus Himself. But the point is that God has it within His power to raise the dead, whenever He pleases. It is no harder for Him to bring a person back to life than to create a life in the first place.
So far resurrections are rare, but we are told that all the dead will rise up on the last day. We will see then what we cannot see now.
It is so arrogant if we stand before God and say, I don’t believe this or that, because it does not fit into my time scale or my experience.
We know nothing before the majesty of God (See Job 38-42).
We believe in God, Creator of all that is, seen and unseen.
The unseen things are often more important than the seen. But what we have seen is a huge indication of what else there might be.
As we contemplate any part of God's creation we are left wondering: Where did all this come from? It must have been from a higher intelligence, and a benign intelligence as well.
If we can humble ourselves - like the woman who touched the hem of His garment (Gospel) - we will receive what we ask, or at least equivalent blessings.
We need a Saviour, someone smarter and better than we are. And we have Him. From Heaven comes the Saviour who will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into glorious copies of His likeness (epistle, Ph 3).
It is God's wish (in His time) to restore the soul and raise the body of each person; also to recreate the world, freeing it from the effects of sin.
Are we still along for the ride or did we get out along the way because of some grievance with God; still trying to tell Him what to do?
Just stay on board and we will come out alright.
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