Romans 12: 1-8, Matthew 16:13-20
May I speak in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
I wonder how you discern – how do you determine what the best course of action is– whether that be small choices that we must make each day or big ones that alters the course of our lives….
Sometimes I get asked about what God’s will is for someone’s life, usually in terms of whether they should change jobs, which university they should go to, or when to get married or have children, ‘I am at a crossroad they say’, and they ask can I be really sure that it’s God talking to me and not myself – they may seek for God to give them a sign – just to be certain. Sometimes that does happen but sometimes the reality of our Christian life is that it is so unspectacular, and our best reassurance comes to all these questions is with St Augustine’s great saying ‘love and do you want you want’.
But I would like to propose that if we flip this question how we discern what God is doing through us not the other way around, we get some important insights into our readings today.
Paul’s letters – the earliest Christian literature we have, doesn’t really speak of Jesus teachings – but instead Paul talks about who God is. Here Paul writes these words that are so familiar to us. First, he calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices as opposed to the dead sacrifices on the altar - and then speaks of the gifts that God has blessed us with and calls upon us to make use of these gifts so that the body might be one.
How to discern what God’s will is personal for Paul – because he missed the resurrection! He didn’t see what God was doing – in fact he thought the opposite and fought against it – how sad that must have been for him!
But once he was transformed, once he looked at the world through God’s lenses, once Paul saw that God was doing through Jesus – his reputation as a rabbi was no longer important.
And in Matthew Gospel, we see two things occur – a confession of faith and a call to ministry. Jesus is disclosing who is to the disciples in so much as humans can bare, comprehend or process. Christ is being very gentle with them – throughout the bible and today - he works at every level in how reveals the mystery of his will on earth.
And God wants us to know his will even more than we want to know his will. It is not some secret. Discovering God's will is not some kind of Easter egg hunt where God hides it and watches us trying to find it.
So, to find God's will we don't have to try very hard. All we have to do is know how God speaks to us and how we hear him. It's about learning to spot his will when we see it and then choosing to follow it. But it’s important that we need to have the right understanding about God's will.
One commentator puts it like this -
First, God's will is good. This means that God has the highest and best for us in mind.
Second, God's will is acceptable.
Third, God's will is perfect, which means it meets the needs of the person.
So, we can be sure that no matter comes our way, we can have the peace that comes from knowing that God's will for us in that situation is good, acceptable, and perfect.
By now, you may be asking, "Well, if God wants us to know his will and it's good for us, why is it so difficult to discover?" Because we have a will, too! Generally, what I find when people are struggling to find God's will is a battle of the wills -trying to decide whether they want to do God's will.
But if we come to church weekly and and receive Holy Communion frequently. If we pray and give up some of our excessive possessions and work without seeking recognition. With thanksgiving to God, the rest will take care of itself.
Then a day will come when we ask, "How did I do?" And God will respond, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Amen.