Service Notes
“I know that my Redeemer lives…” With those words from Job, the Rt. Rev.Charles Bennison leads us into a rich reflection on resurrection, the HolySpirit, and how we live faithfully in troubled times.
Drawing together three powerful texts—Job’s bold confidence in hisRedeemer, Jesus’ teaching on the resurrection and marriage in Luke, and the“man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians—Bishop Bennison explores how the Spiritgives us an alternate consciousness: a new way of thinking, seeing, andliving that is shaped by the risen Christ rather than fear or chaos.
Along the way, he:
- Reflects on Job’s insight that the very God who judges us also becomes our advocate
- Unpacks Jesus’ words about “this age” and “that age,” and how resurrection frees us from the limits of our institutions
- Explains St. Paul’s language of apostasia (rebellion, secession, civil war) and the tension between necessary authority and its potential abuse
- Connects this biblical vision to the history of political thought, including Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, and our own anxieties about the state of the world
Bishop Bennison then turns to Luke’s solution: to be sanctified in theSpirit by immersing ourselves in Scripture, learning to read not just the newsof the day, but the Word of God that shapes how we interpret it. From Jesusreading Isaiah in Nazareth to the Ethiopian eunuch guided by Philip, we see howthe Spirit works through reading, thinking, and praying.
With help from a vivid passage by Robert Frost about “spirit enteringflesh,” this sermon invites us to see our lives—and our moment in history—as adaring work of the Spirit: ever entering, risking, and renewing the world inChrist.
In the end, we are encouraged not to panic, but to think deeply, readfaithfully, and live in the hopeful light of the resurrection: trusting thatour Redeemer lives, and that his Spirit is at work even now.
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