This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 38; Exodus 19:16-25; Colossians 1:15-23; Matthew 3:13-17

This morning’s Canticles are: Pascha Nostrum (“Christ Our Passover,” BCP, p. 83); following the OT reading, Canticle 11 (“The Third Song of Isaiah,” Isaiah 60:1-3,11a,14c,18-19, BCP, p. 87); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 16 (“The Song of Zechariah,” Luke 1:68-79, BCP, p. 92)

Psalm 38 & sin’s effects from the inside. David composes Psalm 38 out of the agony of a wasting illness: “My wounds stink and fester … my loins are filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body” (Psalm 38:5a,7). Anyone who has ever experienced the utter misery of a really bad case of the flu can relate to these words of David. From inside the experience of his sickness, David recognizes a deeper root to his pain, his sin: “There is no health in my flesh, because of your indignation; there is no soundness in my body because of my sin” (Psalm 38:3). 

There are sinful behaviors and foolish choices that can put a person in a sickbed. If David has one of these in mind, he doesn’t say which. It’s also possible that he is not tracing this sickness to a particular sin. He may be mourning the susceptibility to sickness to which the fall into sin subjected all of us. Sin is a “pre-existing condition” without which no illness would afflict. 

Regardless, this is what sin feels like from inside its reality: a wasting disease. Lord, have mercy. 

Exodus 19 & sin’s effects from the outside. At Mt. Sinai, the Israelites discover that their sin creates the need for separation between God and themselves. His presence should be a comfort to his people, but it isn’t. His presence is terrifying. It’s something from which they need protection, lest he “break out against them.” Thus, in this passage, the Lord provides barriers. Concentric circles of approach allow mediated communion: Moses may come all the way to the top of the mountain, Aaron may accompany him part of the way, the people must wait below.  

This is what sin feels like from the outside: boundaries isolate me from a God whose holy presence would destroy me. Lord, have mercy. 

Colossians 1 & Christ the Reconciler. …and through [Christ] God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. — Colossians 1:20. 

One way you can deal with sin’s internal and external effects is to populate the heavens with that which can be either against you (bringing disease, disaster, and condemnation) or for you (winning health, success, and forgiveness). According to archaeological evidence, people around Colossae were especially awed by “spiritual forces.” In the 21st century we like to think of ourselves as enlightened and beyond superstition. But even today athletes have their rituals, and people carry rabbit’s feet or other good luck charms. In their day, Colossians sought to placate some “dominions or rulers or powers” (Colossians 1:16) to ward off evil, and they venerated others, hoping for healing or success. Paul writes to set Colossian Christians straight. 

In one of the most elegant passages in all his writings, Paul points these new believers to Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord of whatever “spiritual powers” there may be in the heavenly realms, for he created everything that is, including all “dominions or rulers or powers.” He is their Lord, as well as ours. It is he, and no one else, who establishes peace between God and us, and who brings well-being to our lives. He does this through the blood of the cross. All this makes Paul’s letter to the Colossians one of the richest invitations to worship in all of Scripture. Praise be!

Matthew 3 & Christ the Baptized. As Christ steps into the waters of the Jordan, he says he’s “fulfilling all righteousness.” What he’s doing is identifying with sinners. This is the one sinless person who has nothing of which to repent, undergoing a washing for the cleansing of sins not his own. Here he launches his public ministry by signaling his intention to shed his blood to bring peace between heaven and earth, and healing to the hearts and minds and bodies of those for whom he has come. Again, praise be!

Be blessed this day.

Reggie Kidd+