C, First Sunday of Advent - Psalm 25:1-10 Good and Upright is the Lord

There once was a working-class man, who became king.    He treated his palace staff as though they were royalty; he even refurbished the workers’ living quarters to palace standards.  The new king was compassionate and kind; he wanted the best for his servants having been a labourer once too. 

But in time his staff became conceited and loathed the king — even his generous rule.  They got up to all sorts of revelry in their plush living quarters and after a short time it looked more like a pigsty than the property of the palace.  They destroyed their regal residence, and the name of the king was slandered inside its wall. 

In fact, his servant subjects had completely rejected his rule, and they credited themselves with the prosperity which had been bestowed upon them.  The king knew about this and was grieved in his heart.  But rather than rid himself of these workers, he patiently and continually encouraged them to renew their allegiance to him and his rule so that peace and harmony would return once again to the servants’ living quarters.

In time the king had a son, but the staff had become so rebellious and distracted by their own importance they didn’t even realise the king had borne an heir to the throne.  This boy knew nothing of the working-class life from which his father had come.  All he had ever experienced inside the walls of the palace was his princely life. 

So, the king lovingly sent his son, to live as a working-class servant boy, to experience life outside the palace walls, so he might better understand his father’s kingdom and better lead the country when he became king.  The boy went to work and live with the palace staff; no doubt he very quickly got some real-life experience. 

Picture what this young boy walked from… cleanliness, prestige, excesses, good manners, honour, and respect.  Now picture what he walked into… dirtiness, coarseness, hard work, debauchery, drunkenness, disrespect, disunity and fighting.  This was hardly an inheritance for a king!

King David was an earthy working-class man too.  He grew up as a shepherd boy.  But God saw that this lowly boy became king. 

David seeks God’s mercy in Psalm 25, saying, To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.  4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.  8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.  (Psalm 25:1-10 NIV)

King David knew where he stood with the Lord; he knew he was a sinner.  In the very next verse, after what we have just heard, David pours his heart out to God, saying, For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. (Psalm 25:11)  David knew the Lord’s way was loving and faithful.  However, for a sinner like David to keep the demands of the covenant is impossible, and it brings this cry of contrition from his lips — for the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my sin, though it is great. 

For the sake of God’s name, these inspired words from David among others, needed to be fulfilled in the advent of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  So we do well to see this Psalm, and all Psalms—in fact, the complete Old Testament—fulfilled in Christ.  Jesus needed to come into the world as a servant; the creator needed to be created, it was advantageous for us that God make his advent amongst us.

 We—like King David and the rebellious workers we’ve just heard about—need a Saviour.  None of us can keep God’s covenant, and, therefore, receive God’s loving and faithful ways.  All of us left to our own devices become treacherous without excuse; before God our best work still brings us shame.  We all need Christ’s coming and his supreme sacrifice.  In fact, we do receive God’s faithfulness and loving guidance, but only because of Jesus Christ.

In this Advent season as we prepare for Christmas, the coming and birth of God amongst us, let’s focus on two things.  Firstly, the heights from which God the Son came to dwell among us.  And secondly, the lengths and depths to which he went, so that we his sinful rebellious and treacherous servants might be saved.  In clearly hearing and grasping the sanctity and privileged position of Almighty God over against the utter depths to which we and all people have slumped, only then do we even begin to truly appreciate just what the grace of God is and how privileged we are to receive it!

Look at it from the point of view of the son sent to live in the servant’s quarters.  How much would the contrast have struck him between princely exuberance in which he had lived and the squalor and filth into which he was delivered?  Think of the shame and despair he could have felt!  Had he done something wrong, did his father, the king, still love him?  Had he been sent to the palace quarters to die with the sacrilegious servants?

Now let’s use Psalm 25 to see Christ’s advent — from his point of view.  To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.  Jesus came from heaven to us, he came from timelessness to a point in time, he the creator was created as a weak baby, he came from infinite knowledge and power, to be born by a mother who was pregnant outside wedlock, and grew to be the son of a lowly Nazareth carpenter.  He was handed over to treacherous men, and put to shame because of our sinful ways.  It looked as though his enemies had triumphed over him.  And yet, he still trusted in his Father who sent him into his fallen sinful creation to save us.

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.  God taught him his paths and showed him the way that led straight to the cross.  Jesus knew the truth, he was innocent and we are guilty.  Yet Jesus’ hope remained in God all day long and now we are called to faith in him who was faithful to his Father’s will for our benefit.

Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.  Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.  Put yourself in Jesus’ place.  How great would God’s goodness and mercy and love “seem to be” if it was you he had sent to die.  Our sin and rebellious ways have continued from of old, right back from our youth.  God remembered them and placed them on his innocent Son.  How good was that for Jesus, who is good?  How good is this for us, who are not good?  Yet we walk in freedom while the Almighty King of the universe, in all goodness and godliness, walked the way of the cross.

 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.  Christ came as King and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, death on a cursed cross.  This is the loving and faithful way the Lord walked even though he kept every demand of the covenant.

As we reflect on Christ’s first coming, and wait for Christ’s second coming, know that all the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for us, because Jesus Christ has kept the demands of the covenant.  So be humble, repent, seek what is right, and allow him to teach you his way. 

By your Holy Spirit, Lord, give us the power to trust your Word, to watch, and to pray.  Amen. 

A, Post-Pentecost 25 Proper 28 - Matthew 25:14-30 "Invested Interest"

When Jesus told the parable of the talents, his hearers would have been astounded by the sheer size of what the master had entrusted with his servants before he departed to a foreign land.

These servants were bondslaves.  These three slaves were his property, they were bound to him, to do with whatever he pleased!

So, he invests in each of his workers, what they were capable of working with, and goes away.  We hear, “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.  Then he went away.” (Matthew 25:15 ESV)

It pleases the departing master to entrust to his bondsmen, what would have been a large responsibility for them.  He lays a burden of five talents on one, two on another, and one on the third bondsman.

One talent was twenty years of wages for a worker of that day.  So, two talents is forty year’s wages and five is one hundred year’s wages.   The master invests eight talents in these three men; that is one hundred and sixty years of worker’s wages.  That is not to be sniffed at.  The hearers of Jesus’ parable would have been both amazed and overwhelmed by the trust and generosity of the master sizable entrustment invested in these three characters!

Jesus tells the parable about himself.  He is the one going on a journey to a foreign place, so to speak, when he would ascend into heaven after the resurrection, leaving holy talents to manage. 

Although there are three bondsmen, there are two reactions.  To those given the five and two talents, they both willingly receive what the master has given and put the talents to work, both receiving back double.   The first, turning five talents, or one hundred year’s wages, into two hundred year’s wages.  And the second turning forty year’s wages into eighty!

To them the master says exactly the same thing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21,23 ESV).

The two get the same accolade and are welcomed into the joy of their master.  This is the pleasure of the master.  Now that the master has returned, they both are endowed with the same benefit and favour. They not only enjoy the spoils of what the master had given, but now they dwell with the master in the fullness of his presence and his pleasure. 

What he had given them to manage was considered by the master as being puny and limited, which would have also made the ears tingle of those who heard Jesus say, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much”.

In contrast to the first two servant slaves, the third acts completely different.  In fact, the weight of the parable sits with this fellow’s action and response to his master. 

We might say that he is contrasted by the fact that he received less.  However, what he received although smaller, was still indeed quite a substantial investment given to him.  In the same way as the other two, it pleased the master to consider the burden this slave could bear and bound him accordingly.  Even though the amount was less, the master’s trust was the same as was his expectations.

The third servant saw it differently, and it’s evident in what he did with the talent as well as what he said at the master’s return. 

The parable to this point has been deliberately repetitive, demonstrating that the master graciously entrusted his property to all three, he had fairly considered the abilities of all three, but nevertheless still gave equally what the servants considered much and what he considered little.

The third slave condemns himself with his own words saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,  so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.  Here, you have what is yours.” (Matthew 25:24–25 ESV)

From where did the third servant get his impression of his master?  Not only was this bondsman ignorant of his master’s true character, the bondsman’s action, or lack thereof, treated the master’s invested interest, entrustment, and faith in his servant’s ability with utter contempt.  

The language Jesus uses of the third slave also differs somewhat, which is not made plain in English.  Most English translations say all three “received” five, two, and one talent, but the Greek stresses Jesus saying he who took possession of the one talent, “still” only held one talent.  The two who had received the five and two talents, had five and two talents only once, which on his return was a thing of the past, whereas the one who held one talent, continued to only hold one talent.

Why would the bond slave bury his master’s entrustment of property?  The answer comes from the master calling the servant, “wicked and slothful”. 

With regard to being wicked, this servant was starved of trust in both the master and what was entrusted to him.  The servant also was found wanting in his own identity as a trusted servant, starving the master of his service.  Not only was he wearisome and hurtful of himself, but the servant was also wearisome and hurtful to his master.

Not only was he wicked, but he was also slothful.  Slothfulness is being slow and hesitant.  This is not cautious and careful, but rather sluggish and slack.  The master reports, “you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.”  (Matthew 25:27 ESV)

We don’t know why, but this third bondsman thought the master’s being was hard, and he was afraid.  Where the first two servants were in awe of the master, the third for some reason thought him to be awful rather than awesome.

Jesus is the master in the parable he tells.  The goods Jesus leaves with us is the very essence of his goodness to us!  How one treats the goods of God is how one treats and considers our God who is good to us.

We are God’s bond servants; we are tied to Jesus Christ.  Like the servants in the parable, we can see our service and our being bound to God and his goodness as good!  Or, like the third servant we can loath God’s goodness, bury his goodness and actively hide what he has given to us.

The interest God has in you, is an invested interest.  He is so interested in you he sent his Son, the Son of God, to invest his goodness in you, to tie you to his resurrection and return, to bind your sin and set you free.

In Jesus Christ you have received an inheritance, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.   And believing in his goodness, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of your inheritance until you acquire possession of it. 

That possession will occur for all who believe, when Jesus our good and gracious master returns.

Be like the two willing servants, who were willing slaves of their master, tied to his goodness, living in freedom from self to serve his interests.  Flee the fear of the other slave who buried and forgot the master’s goodness, becoming enslaved to his own spirit and perception of the master’s gracious gifts!

“By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”  (2 Timothy 1:14 ESV)

Because you bear the Holy Spirit you are a helpful bondservant of God.  He gives to you according to your ability.  He gives grace upon grace, gift upon gift, good upon good.  He also gives all who believe the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will enable you too!  God’s good is your good, his goods are your goods, his identity is invested in your identity!

In the joy of the Holy Spirit, see that you have been invested into the enjoyment of your master, Jesus Christ!  Amen.  

A, Resurrection of our Lord, Easter Sunday - Acts 10:34–43 "No Partiality"

Acts 10:34–43 (ESV) So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,  but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.  As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),  you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,  but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,  not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.  To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

God shows no partiality over humanity.  God shows no partiality over sin.  God shows no partiality over forgiveness.  God shows no partiality over unbelief.  This is the message of the blood stained cross.  This is the message of the empty tomb.  This is the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. 

In dealing with humanity’s sin and death God showed no partiality, but in his work of salvation he is very bias with whom he chose to work.  This was the work of blessing all humanity through God’s favoured few.  God couldn’t associate with unholiness,  he could not show partiality to sin.  If God did show partiality to sin, or unholiness, the purity of his holiness would be desecrated, and he would prove himself to not be God.

God could have destroyed humanity, but God would have place himself in a dilemma if he did so.  God is a God of faithfulness; faithfulness is the substance of his divinity, he is faithful to himself, in himself, and towards those with whom he exists, in his eternal realm, visible and invisible, as it were.  This faithfulness manifests itself as love.  God is love!  God’s love shows no partiality.  God’s love expects no partiality.  God is a jealous God, a protective God.

God shows no partiality.  God believes in himself, there is nothing in his being he does not know, nothing in what he expects that cannot be done.  He is faithful and generous and shows no partiality in his desire to be faithful and compassionate, jealously expecting all things exist under his protection and love.  

God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He chose Joseph and Moses in Egypt.  He chose Joshua and the Judges, Samuel, and David.  He favoured the tribe of Judah over the other tribes of Israel.  In God’s favouritism towards the Jews and Jerusalem God showed no partiality, for through them God was seeking to bless all nations, to love all people through one  nation.  To favour all people, by favouring his chosen people.  So, through them, all people might come to favour him above all things. 

By reconnection to humanity through the Law, God showed no partiality demanding everyone to: “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37 ESV, Deuteronomy 6:5)  And: “love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39 ESV, Leviticus 19:18)  But they failed in the Law, and chose to love themselves in the Law, knowing that God shows no partiality.

So, God sent Jesus.  In Jesus Christ the Kingdom of God was near.  Jesus Christ was sent to do what Israel could not do, to do what we could not do, to do what humanity could not do.  In doing what Israel could not do, the Son of God took on the servant role as the Son of Man.  God showed no partiality to his Son, Jesus Christ, Son of Mary, Son of man.

Jesus became the new Israel to save Israel.  God promised to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)  Now that promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.   Jesus Christ became the new Adam to save all of Adam’s offspring.  Jesus Christ is Lord of all, all Israelites, all Gentiles, all of humanity, all of creation.  Jesus Christ gave us back our connection with God our Father!  In restoring us to God, God the Son showed no partiality!  Not even to his own divinity.

So faithful to the Father of Heaven was Jesus Christ, this Created Creator became so low, being shunned by all humanity as unholy.  He claimed no majesty, he claimed no beauty, through our desire we beat the Servant of Man black and blue.  God the Son showed no partiality, not even to himself, putting aside his divinity, so God the Father could show no partiality to the sins of Israel, and the sin of Adam.  

Jesus Christ, lay aside his divinity, he chose to put off his partiality of being God the Son, and serve as the Son of Man.  In showing no partiality to humanity, our Heavenly Father sent God the Holy Spirit into his Servant, the Son of Man.  The Holy Spirit showed no partiality in his work of helping the Son of Man be the Servant of many.

When Jesus put aside his divinity, his human spirit showed no partiality towards anything or anyone but our Father in Heaven.  He loved our Father above all things and the Holy Spirit rested on the Servant of Man, showing to humanity the source of power to do the good that leads to eternal life.

God shows no partiality.  He believes in you so much he sent his Son to bear the brunt of his impartial hatred against humanity’s sin and your death and placed the Holy Spirit within you so you might have the power to believe and receive his Son.

When you were baptised, God showed no partiality, he did not waver in condemnation of sin, nor the forgiveness of it.  You were baptised into Jesus’ death.  God shows no partiality in sending the Holy Spirit to you in your Holy Baptism.  God the Holy Spirit shows no partiality in filling those who hear the Word of God with faith in the forgiveness of sins.  God shows no partiality over your sin!

God shows favouritism to those who are perfect; those who are holy as he is holy.  Therefore, God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, having been the perfect and blameless Servant of Man, but at the same time being the sacrifice to put our sin right. 

God shows no partiality in daily raising sinners from death, when they trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, just as God the Holy Spirit together with God the Father raised the Son of Man from the dead.

God the Father has raised the Son of Man to his right hand, the Son of Man is the Son of God, in all his risen glory.  God the Father and God the Son, show partiality and favouritism towards those who believe that God shows no partiality over condemning sin and his work of forgiveness, when they confess sin and believe they are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.

You are acceptable to God.  He shows no partiality, he shows no partiality towards unbelief in the Son of Man, no belief in the Son of God, in the forgiveness of sin, in the work of the Holy Spirit within you, and in the resurrection to eternal life.

He does not judge you and me with shallow judgement.  He has no part with those who are apart from him!  But he judged Jesus Christ, setting him apart, and shows no partiality to those who are partial towards him and do not believe.

Let us pray.  Lord God, we believe, save us from our unbelief.  We know you show no partiality towards sin, and therefore show no partiality against those who believing in Jesus Christ and  confess their sin.  We believe Lord, save us from our unbelief by sending the Holy Spirit, inspiring faith within to continually confess sin and believe in Jesus Christ throughout all our trials in this life, Amen.

C, Advent 1 - Luke 21:27-28,36 "Stand Before The Son Of Man"

Luke 21:27–28, 36 (ESV) And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.

A man and woman, a dog, a horse, and a chicken, all find themselves standing before God after their time on earth, and he asks them, “What was your purpose while you lived in the world?” 

The chicken tells God that her purpose was to lay eggs for food for the man and the woman and to have baby chickens so they too could produce eggs and more chickens.  Some of us chickens would also be food for humanity too.  The chicken testified to its practice of scratching around the place eating insects, grubs, and grains of seed during the course of each day.  The chicken also joyfully tells of its production of chook poo and how it fertilises the ground.

The horse is then called to testify to its purpose to which it tells God it is a beast of burden.  We horses carry humanity on our backs, pull loads of goods, and plough paddocks with our horsepower. And, like the chicken, the horse also confesses its poo is good for the garden.

The dog is then brought forward to attest to its function in the scheme of daily activity.  The dog reveals its purpose as a protector and a friend of the man and woman.  It tells of its dogged determination of chasing down other animals like cattle and sheep, to help humans round up their herds and flocks.  But the dog also freely bears witness to the not so nice practise of eating rotten flesh, scavenging, and even returning to its own vomit from time to time.

Finally, the humans stand before God to give evidence of what their function is in the world.  But the humans don’t know what to say to God.  They didn’t realise they had to stand before God.  In fact, they had forgotten God existed and thought they were the ultimate reality on earth.

Humanity has forgotten its function!  What is our purpose in life?  When Jesus returns how will we stand before the Righteousness of God. 

How does one stand before the Son of Man?  Face to face, toe to toe with Jesus Christ on the last day we will all stand before the Son of Man!  And as we stand before him, the full account of our lives will be revealed down to the last dot and tittle. How does one stand before the Son of Man?

The Son of Man is a title that Jesus often used for himself and often connected with his coming at the end of time.  Jesus is also the Son of God, but he never uses this title. Rather, it is spoken of him by Gabriel the Archangel when Jesus was conceived in Mary. He is named the Son of God in the linage of man in the genealogy of Adam.  The Devil, demons, and the Jews all accuse him in connection with being the Son of God.  But Jesus lived, suffered, and died as the Son of Man, and during this time promised his return as the Son of Man.

In stark contrast to Jesus calling himself the Son of Man, we position ourselves as sons of ourselves, second to no one.  Each of us would prefer to be recognised as heroes of humanity rather than a son of man. 

Man in his misogyny and females in their feminism, both challenging each other and turning in on the centrality of their humanity, seek to stand aloof in one’s own righteousness. Being a son of man like Jesus doesn’t appeal to us, as something to which we might want to attain or to one whom we would want to submit.

But Jesus promises, “…they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”  (Luke 21:27–28 ESV)

And he continues, “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36 ESV)

To understand what Jesus is telling us about straightening up, raising your head, and standing before the Son of Man in the future, we need to see what Jesus teaches us about standing before the Son of Man in the word of God.

Jesus addresses how a person stands when he tells a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:  “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” (Luke 18:9–14a ESV)

Jesus stands before humanity as the servant Son of Man.  Then Jesus will stand before humanity with power and great glory at the end of time.

Jesus tells us, the Son of Man comes to us in this life and knocks, he says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20 ESV)

And, “…once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’  But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.”  (Luke 13:25–28 ESV)

Jesus stands to serve, and he will come and stand to see if we have received his service.  Those who do not want his service in this life will continue in that.  Those who realise they need his service and allow him to be our servant will enter the eternal service of God the Father where there is eternal peace.

Jeremiah looked forward to the time of Jesus’ service of righteousness in a time when salvation and security on earth seemed fleeting.  He says, “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 33:16 ESV)

It is advantageous for us, as we enter the Advent season,  to let the light of Christ serve you.  Let him illuminate your sin and save you as he stands before you and knocks.  Let God function in your life as your God so you can stand in his eternal kingdom functioning as saints saved for all eternity. 

For the kingdom and the power and the glory belongs to the Son of Man. And he stands before us, offering himself as gift, today and every day, until he returns with all power and glory. Amen.