2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29
The Reverend Paul DeLain Allick, St. George’s Episcopal Church, July 12, 2009

I wonder what would happen for the Church if we all spent less time worrying if we were saved and more time wondering if we were fulfilling the mission we have been called to. We come here to worship God but underneath the question remains: How can I be saved?

As you well know that little question causes a lot of hurt in the world. Within Christianity and among religions we mutually condemn each other. “You aren’t being saved the right way! You must submit to my way of understanding salvation or I will find a way to punish you. I will either hurt you physically or hurt you emotionally and spiritually by telling you over and over that you are condemned to hell.” We religious people are quite ironic aren’t we?

St. Paul in this lesson from Ephesians assures us that we were chosen and destined before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God. In Christ we are adopted as sons and daughters of God. In the blood of Christ we have received redemption and forgiveness. He tells us that we have been given all wisdom and insight into God’s plan for the fullness of all things; we understand the uniting of all things in heaven and earth. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance in God.

We are? Do I always feel that way? Some Christians will say that it is already all predestined who is saved and who isn’t. Others will say that we claim this salvation of our own free will by accepting Jesus as our personal savior. But how can we know for sure? Perhaps we cannot. It isn’t something we always know but it is something we can keep living into; instead of determining a formula, that is a product, we can focus on the process. The process of salvation is about our relationship with God through Christ.

We enter into this relationship by accepting and living into the New Covenant. We do this in our baptism. The New Covenant is defined in the Catechism (Book of Common Prayer, p.851): it is the new relationship with God

given by Jesus Christ to the apostles and then through them to all who believe. The Promise of this Covenant is that Christ will bring us into the Kingdom of God and give us life in all it’s fullness.

Our part of the relationship is to believe and to keep the commandments of Christ. We begin with the Christ’s Summary of the Law: to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind and secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself. Then we learn the New Commandment given by Christ: to love one another as He loves us. This New Covenant was sealed in the Atonement of Christ on the cross. He promised it at the Last Supper and it is renewed at every Holy Eucharist.

At the heart of the question, “Can I be saved?” is the desire to get to heaven, to make sure we will be alright after we die.

The Catechism teaches this about heaven and hell: “By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal
death in our rejection of God.” (Book of Common Prayer, p.862)

We begin that process now. We can spend this earthly pilgrimage in enjoyment of God or in rejection of God. How many times a day do we reject God? How often do we pray? We can formally pray with the Daily Offices or we can remember to pray in the garden, while doing the dishes, even while watching television.

Where are we in our enjoyment of God? How often do we take advantage of an Holy Eucharist being offered? In the Holy Eucharist we are renewing and strengthening our bond with God through Christ.

Being saved isn’t just about our life after death; it is about the here and now as well. And it won’t be easy. It will call strengths and graces out of us that we never knew we had.

This New Covenant will cost us everything. Just ask St. John the Baptist whom we read about in the Gospel today. His faithfulness to God cost him his life. Before he was born, John was called on his

mission. He was to prepare the way for Christ. He was to preach repentance and offer ritual baptism as a cleansing. He was to speak the truth. In his mission he offended many people. Most tragically for him he offended Herodias.

David, the small shepherd boy who would be King of Israel and Judah, was called on a mission. This mission was not of his choosing. Today we hear how he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to the people. In his mission he offends Saul’s daughter as he dances in celebration with the common folk.

For most Christians, living into the New Covenant isn’t going to cost us the tribulations it caused David or John. For some Christians in the world today it is still this treacherous but for us it is more subtle. It costs us everything emotionally and spiritually.

So rather than fretting over whether we are saved or not we could take all of that emotional and spiritual energy and pour it into keep up our side of the New Covenant. Putting God and His Church at the top of our schedule instead of fitting it in when it is convenient. Sacrificing ten minutes a day to read a psalm or the Gospel to renew our understanding of God’s good will and purpose for us. By remembering that mission is about spiritual transformation and not just spiritual security. By loving others whom we don’t feel deserve our love.

Each of us is called on a mission. A life lived into the New Covenant gives us what we need to do that mission. As we prayed in the Collect this morning as God receives our prayers we hope that we will understand what we are called to do and that God will give us the grace and power to do it.