4th Sunday After Easter, 2025

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In today’s Collect we prayed

 “O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men.”

 

God gave us a conscience, the moral compass of right and wrong, in our soul and heart.  In the Christian sense it is among the higher faculties of man, to whom it is unique, and that its effectiveness is increased by experience through grace and the Holy Spirit.  We all have it, some use, many ignore it.

 

Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher wrote: “Conscience thus is considered the mediator between the law of God and the will of man.”  Our wills and affections are not naturally in harmony with God, without His full-time influence, our free Will continually gets in the way of God’s plan for us.

 

Christian moralists regard our conscience as a means by which men can progressively learn the will of God, given in response to prayer.  Prayer is communication with God, but remember, communication is a two-way street, we learn more by listening to God then we do by talking.

 

I can assure you that none of us has cornered the market by knowing the right thing to do in all circumstances or always knows which path is the right one to take.  And I can also assure you that none of us has the willpower and the strength to always do the right thing according to God’s will. 

 

Then in Today’s Epistle:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

 

The Philips translation reads: But every good endowment that we possess and every complete gift that we have received must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.

 

St James is telling us that God is steady, reliable, always there, without any variation, we can put our complete trust in Him without any hesitation.  He is a constant stream of light before which all shifting and changing shadows are banished, leaving one in a steadfast unchanging glow.

 

And in the Gospel:

“ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

 

Notice, He will guide you in all truth, he will guide you to everything that is good and is true, he will serve as your conscience, if you will allow him to.

The 2nd part of today’s Collect reads:

“Grant unto thy people, that they may love the things which thou commandest and desire that which thou dost promise, that among the many and various changes of this world our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found. Through Jesus Christ our Lord…Now there is a prayer.  Have you ever thought or wished that everyone would accept, love and follow Christ?  What a different world we would live in.

 

It is the objective and agenda of this world and the worldly churches to bring Jesus down to our level, to remake him in our image.  No moral compass, just a good ol boy who is inclusive and non-judgmental.  A world in which sin does not exist and everyone goes to heaven on their own terms.

 

The true practicing Christian agenda and God’s agenda is to lift us up to Jesus and his standard.  He is to be our source of existence, our saviour, he is the fuel on which our spirits run, he keeps us functioning each and every day, and He is the source of our inexplicable joy.  St. Augustine centuries ago said, “The soul is restless until it finds its rest in thee”.

 

I often ask friends and co-workers as sort of a fun way to say hello, “How is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”  Many times the response I get back can be negative.  We may have life and liberty, but the pursuit of happiness isn’t always what it is cracked up to be.  The truth is we aren’t very good at figuring out what will make us happy.  The better job, the newer car, the fanciest cell phone, the latest gadget and initially such things boost our happiness, but the satisfaction quickly fades and soon we are yearning for something else.  Consumerism is really another word for addiction, we are addicted to faster, higher, bigger, better, and more complex gadgets that promise to make our lives easier and more convenient, yet often only contribute to a more frantic lifestyle. 

 

The truth is happiness never truly lasts, it is dependent on outside circumstances.  The Blessedness which only comes from God is an inward fountain of Joy which no outward circumstance can seriously affect.  Blessedness consists in standing in a right relation to God and remains even under the most unhappy of circumstances, a paradox which the world will never understand.

 

As St. Augustine said, the soul is restless until it finds its rest in thee.  Practice the real presence of God, let him into your life and rely on Him everyday, through His word, through prayer, and through His Holy Spirit and he will guide you into all truth that your joy may be full.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen!

Fr. Steve