Pentecost 13

August 23 - 29

1 Kings, 2 Corinthians

“You are the man!” The man in Nathan’s famous words is David. Not long before this, he had been dancing with all his might before the LORD as the ark of the covenant was being brought home. He entered the tabernacle with a heart full of thanksgiving and dedication to the LORD. But now, David is a different kind of man - a ruthless adulterer and a cruel thief with blood on his hands, the kind of man who asks why he shouldn’t have whatever he wants.

This question finds a reprisal in the Corinthian church, which, despite its Christian name, openly accepts behavior that would make even pagans blush. “Everything is permitted,” they argue, asserting their self-imposed right to do as they please.

The theft of goods and spouses and undue liberty is certainly greedy and merciless, but at heart, it is idolatry. It is the sinner acting as his own god, declaring his sin as a rightful act, and then stooping to shameful depths to justify it.

But St. Paul tears our idols down in a firm pronouncement: we are not our own. We were bought at a price that God himself paid with his Son, Jesus. He has bound us together in the sacraments as part of his body. This is no place for our flimsly, self-made crowns in his church. Instead, we echo his sacrifice by seeking first what is beneficial to our brothers and sisters, and honorable to our Lord.

One day, when we follow our king into the new Jerusalem, there will be no sin to condemn and no shame to endure, only the sound of eternal praise from perfectly united sons and daughters of the king. Until then, we strive to put away sin live in the grace of our Lord.

On a mountain east of Jerusalem, beyond the resplendent temple Solomon has dedicated to the LORD, construction crews begin building new houses of worship. These are not for the LORD, but for false gods from surrounding regions. Solomon’s many wives, who worship them, are leading his heart astray, and he seems to be willing to follow. It is a far cry from the prayers of repentance and praise he offered to the true God at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. The next generation of Israelite royalty fares no better, dividing the kingdom and shutting out the LORD’s prophets.

The same impulse emerges among the Christians in Corinth, whose warm endorsement of sexually immoral behavior and false teaching is sharply constrasted by their chilly relationship with St. Paul. He pleads with them to open their hearts to the Gospel as widely as he has opened his heart to them by preaching it, even if it grieves them to do so.

Ignorning the unimpressive jars of clay that say otherwise, the wandering heart believes it is free to follow idols, to pursue its own glory, and to demand acceptance of its most sinister desires. But it is an imaginary freedom. In reality, it is bound to sin.

Instead, St. Paul tells the Corinthians that where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom – freedom from certain death and condemnation. The death and resurrection of Jesus transforms our hearts from the passing glory of this world to the perfect, everlasting glory found only in Jesus Christ. The old things are put away and the new are put on. The transformed heart, bound to Christ, opens wider with his Gospel. May our hearts, moved by the Spirit, be bold in service and obedience to our Lord, however he leads us.