Sermon for 6th Sunday After Epiphany: Leaves that do not Wither

Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1, 1 Cor. 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26

The Reverend Paul D. Allick, The Church of the Advent, February 17, 2025

A certain congregation was struggling. They lived in a very

famous and wealthy city which had an embarrassing level of

income disparity. They were surrounded by a plethora of

religious and cultural options. Their city had a reputation as a

very “sensual city,” but it was so expensive who could afford

to visit?

There were serious conflicts within the congregation. Some

claimed that there was no resurrection of the dead. Others

that Christ was not really present in the Eucharist. They were

divided into cliques and factions. Liberals and traditionalists

were pushing their particular vision of the church. Others

were dabbling in various “new age” type spiritualities.

As the church was being consumed by secular culture, some

were abbreviating Sunday Mass to accommodate sporting

events.

No, this wasn’t an Episcopal parish in San Francisco. It was

the fledgling Church in first century Corinth.

Today we read from one of Paul’s pastoral letters to them. In

today’s section he is correcting those who do not believe in

the resurrection of the dead.

He pleads with them, “If there is no resurrection of the dead,

then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been

raised, then our faith is in vain!”

It is remarkable how little changes in the Church and in the

World.

Debate over the physical resurrection of Jesus continues.

There has always been the temptation to explain it away as

an apparition; a metaphorical aspiration rather than a reality.

I believe in the resurrection of the dead and the actual

physical resurrection of Jesus Christ because I accept the

Creeds. I do not believe I know better than the ancients

because I have a TV, a smart phone and took science

classes.

But I also believe my own life experience. As a priest I walk

with people as their worlds are shaken: job loss, financial

crises, death, divorce, illnesses. I repeatedly see people go

through devastating trials and then rise out of them. I see

them live again.

On balance, I see far more resurrection in this life than

death. So often I have seen life and love overcome death

and animosity. If cannot see this, I cannot see Jesus.

But we are not only metaphorically resurrected. We are

going to be raised in the fullness of our being.

The Catechism teaches us that when we confess in the

Nicene Creed that “We look for the resurrection of the dead”

and in the Apostle’s Creed that we believe in “the

resurrection of the body” this means that, “God will raise us

from death in the fullness of our being, that we may live with

Christ in the communion of saints.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 862)

The fullness of our being.

First Century theologian Origen explains it this way: the

natural body which has undergone corruption will not resume

its original nature any more than a grain of wheat which has

decayed will return to its original state. But that same grain,

planted, will produce a stalk. That is the power that God

implants in our bodies. (p. 472)

At baptism we die to ourselves and are born again. We go

down into the water losing our old selves and rise reborn in

Christ. We are a new creation.

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls

into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it

dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)

What can we do to be part of this resurrection? We become

righteous. Not self-righteous or righteous in other people’s

eyes but we get right with God. Then as we mature in that

effort, we get right with ourselves and others.

When we get righteous, we can withstand the perils of this

earthly pilgrimage and become blessed. As Jesus said to the

disciples, “Blessed are you when you are poor, hungry,

weeping, and when you are reviled for trying to get right with

God, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

The prophet Jeremiah warns his people how to avoid

destruction and exile, “Those who trust in the Lord, are like a

tree planted by water which is not distressed by heat or

drought.”

In Psalm 1 we have this advice: To get right with God do not

expend your energy on the wicked or the scornful...Delight

in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night. Then

you will be like a tree planted by a stream of water bearing

fruit at the right time with leaves that do not wither.

Get right with God and live abundantly forever. Be a leaf that

never dies even amid drought and heat. Constantly turn

back to the statutes of God and he will provide you with

springs of water gushing with eternal life.

In this way we will be regenerated, reborn, and resurrected

in this life and in the life to come.

Reference: First Corinthians (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture)

by George T. Montague, SM

Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI 2011

The Teachings of the Church Fathers by John R. Willis, S.J.

Ignatius Press - San Francisco 1996, 2002