Stand Fast and Serve

Samuel sets Israel under a hard light. The Lord had delivered, fed, and borne them, yet they answered mercy with distrust and asked for a king. Paul also sets the church under a hard light: Christ truly died, was buried, and rose again; this gospel saves, if it is held fast and not received in vain. In both readings, God’s gifts do not excuse disobedience. Rather, His mighty acts bind us more closely to fidelity.

Israel’s sin was not hidden by having a king; the thunder in wheat harvest showed that God remains Judge even when He does not at once destroy. Yet Samuel did not leave the people in despair. He called them to fear the Lord, serve Him truly, and not turn aside after empty things. So too Paul speaks of grace, but not of idle grace. The risen Christ appeared, called, and sent; therefore Paul spent himself in labor, and his labor was not a denial of grace but its fruit. As Chrysostom says, "...when he had said, I labored more abundantly than they all, 1 Corinthians 15:10 added, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

This is the common word: remember what God has done, confess the sin you have done, and then walk in obedient hope. "After the Lord your God you shall go, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and serve Him, and cleave unto Him." The resurrection does not make our conduct small; it makes steadfastness possible. Therefore do not return to vain things. Serve without boasting, repent without delay, and let your work prove that you have not believed in vain.