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In the name of Jesus. Amen. Οὕτως (houtos)
is a little Greek word which means "in this way" or "thusly."
houtos is not "so"
like my son says, "Daddy, I love you sooooooooooooooooo much!"
No, Stan Lemon, our sometimes sour webmaster (smirk),
lays houtos out perfectly in his little blog article entitled:
A Necessary re-Translation. In that article, Stan quotes my catechism
instructor's translation of our favorite American poster verse: "For God
loved the world this way, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Notice how God loves us: He loves us in the giving up
of His Son. He loves us concretely and extra nos (outside us).
He loves us in Christ.
"Wait.. wait... I thought God loved me. I mean, how
could He not? Surely, He cares for me. I mean, I'm.. I'm.... me!"
Actually, No. The Law, which always accuses (lex semper
accusat) has far worse to say about you and me. Don't think that God
cannot get enough of you. He din't find something inside of you that He
couldn't go on without.
The Law is quite clear how God feels toward us: We
sin and God hates sin. Yes, God hates sinners. So says the Law, "The
soul that sins shall die."
See, the Law is quite blunt. The answer to Lemon's
question about whether God cares for us is "No, the Law says He doesn't."
We sin. He hates sin. He hates what we do. He's not
indifferent. We are His enemy. Make no mistake: Jesus knows
what's in men (John 2:25)
So, is our beloved webmaster wrong when he says, "God cares
for us in Christ?" Actually, he isn't. Stan is absolutely correct.
You see, the Law answer to "Does God care for me?" is "No,
hater of God, He doesn't." That's the most the Law can come up with as an
answer to that question.
But outside of us in Christ is another answer. Does
God care for me? Well, does God care for Christ? Yes, He does!
Then God cares for me in Christ.
Does God love me? Well, does God love His Son?
Yes, then in Christ God loves me too. How does God love me? He loves
me in the giving up of His Son on the Cross. That's completely outside of
me and completely in Him and thus completely Gospel. If it were at all in
me, then I could botch it!
In the cross of Christ, God does care for us!
In the suffering and death of the Son of God, God shows us His love.
That's God's love! Not that we love Him, but that He loved
us and died in our place - a sacrifice for our sins. That's how He cares
for us! He dies for us.
Which changes everything, doesn't it? Everything you
do now, you do as one whom God can't get enough of in Christ. When you
turn left, you turn left as a baptized child of God. When you turn right,
you turn right as one who has been fed the very Body and Blood of Christ.
Everything you do, you do as redeemed child of God, whose sins have been
forgiven in Holy Absolution.
What shirt do we wear? What do we eat? What do we pray for?
Does God care about these? The Law says "Nope, He doesn't." The
Gospel says that in Christ, God has given us the freedom to choose our clothes
and what we shall eat. Our lives happen in the context of being buried
with Christ in baptism and raised with Christ to new life. He loves and
cares for us that much - in Christ Jesus.
When you sin, you hear the Law. Turn from your sins
and stop being evil. Then, after the Law has emptied you of all that you
thought was inside you that God could possibly care about, it's time to hear the
Gospel: He cares for His Son, so He cares for you too - what you eat, what
you drink, what you do, where you work, where you sleep, and who you are.
Your life happens in the waters of our Baptism, where God does indeed love you
and cares for everything you do.
Nicely done, Stan. "In this way" (houtos) the Father
loves you: He gave up His Son. "That's one sweet Lemon!" In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
"But as you abound in everything -- in faith, in speech,
in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us -- see that you abound
in this grace also." (2 Cor. 8:7 NKJV)
Edited on: September 14th, 2005 4:38 pm
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