5th Sunday after Epiphany 10 Feb 2019 Sermon

5^th Sunday after Epiphany 10.2.19 Time

Many would say that religion in any form is not relevant to them. They have their lives to lead and do not need anything extra that religion might offer them, they might say.

But they do not really have a choice. Every person on the face of the earth, of whatever religion, or no religion, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ when their life is over (2 Cor 5.10). When all the curtains are pulled aside there is He, and no other.

Yes, there is  a choice insofar as to how we prepare for that event, but no choice as to whether or not it will happen. In the end whatever we do, wherever we may roam, it comes back to that.

From that judgment we will then spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell. There is no third place for the neutral! There is no Neutral with God. We are either for Him or against Him (Mt 12,30).

So we reaffirm our desire to be with Him, to make certain that our own judgment will be favourable. If we do not know the exact state of our souls we can still do certain things that will be to our advantage.

This is our day in the sun; our time to shine forth.

Consider that we spend a lot of time not being alive on this earth. There were thousands of years before we came along; and who knows how long we may have to lie in a cemetery before we rise again.

God give us the gift of time; as well as the gift of free choice. Here it is: make what you will of it. We can make it go in certain channels.

We cannot control the future in many ways, but this one yes. We can spend every moment in service of God, in advancing His kingdom.

And the past too. We have certain disappointments we cannot reclaim. We see many wrong turnings we have taken. We cannot reverse the events themselves but we can reverse the attitude, where needed.

If I did something through selfishness back then, I can reverse the attitude in my mind, reverse the selfishness.

Anyone at any time can say, I am sorry, in such a way as to set off in a genuine new direction.

This is what it comes to: we are either repenting for our past life or - if we have already done that – we press on with whatever time remains, doing things for God.

This much we can get right. One could have a broken marriage, be bankrupt, spent time in gaol, have committed multiple sins… it can all be fixed in a moment, as we set a new direction.

Don’t delay. The sooner the better. Don’t make it harder than it is; as in raising objections, arguing over technicalities etc.

We go on our knees and ask for mercy for what has been, and grace to make it different in the future.

With a little extra effort we can rise above the normal standard. Each moment in time can be transformed by the grace of God; especially if we ask for it to be so.

Thus the good and bad crop live together and share the same space. God allows the time for the bad to repent, and the good to get better; for both bad and good to make repairs, and then to flourish, in readiness for the final harvest at the end of time.