Friday, February 11, 2005
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
NOW NO CONDEMNATION
A man rushed up to a subway ticket booth and slapped a coin down on the counter. When he did not immediately receive the change coming to him, he looked up to see what was the cause of delay. He stared into the most hideous looking face he had ever seen. Angered at what he saw, he snarled, "Come on, hurry up, give me my change. Don't stare at me like that!" It was only then that he realized that the booth was empty, and the face he was looking at was his own reflection.
If we take a good hard look at ourselves we soon find we're not such good Christians as we sometimes would like to believe. St. Paul speaks for us all when he writes in Romans: "I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells" (Rom. 7:18). Being a Christian involves a constant battle against the notion that we somehow -- even if in just some small way -- deserve God's love and blessings. For once we start believing that, we're headed away from the grace of Christ and into deep spiritual danger. The Scriptures say: "A man's pride shall bring him low" (Proverbs 29:23).
But we dare not focus for very long on this ugly picture of our own sinful selves. Doing so will only lead us to helpless despair. Yes, let us see and realize our sin, but let us be quick to turn our gaze toward the place where God solved our sin problem.
Come back in time with me 2000 years ago to a lonely hill outside the city gates of Jerusalem. Come back to the place where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, and bring your guilt with you. You are there. You see the Roman soldiers pounding nails into the flesh of God's Son. But you know it is your sins too that have put Him on the cross. You are just as responsible for His death as anyone. But what does Jesus say: "Father forgive them!" You look back at a life in which you have said and done some very terrible things. But then you look up and see the blood trickling down your Savior's innocent brow -- the blood that cleanses you of all sin. You look ahead and cringe at the thought of future failings, but then you hear the mighty cry of your champion: "It is finished!" All your sin -- of the past, present and future -- has already been taken away, removed as far as the east is from the west! You know your sins have earned for you eternal separation from God in hell. But there, from beneath the shadow of the cross, you hear Jesus say: "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me!" Yes, Christ was forsaken by God, tasting hell in your place, so that you would never have to experience that torment.
St. Paul sums up this peace-giving reality with the words: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." 