Work on your salvation with fear and trembling.
Proper 27, Year C
We are to “work on our salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12b Moving through the spiritual journey of life with humility, reverence, and persistence is the work of our salvation. Baptism grants us admission to the household of Christ, but does not remove our propensity to sin. Christians are, therefore, sinners. Sinners who choose to work on our faults and failings.
We can read about the fruits of salvation and the need to work on salvation in the letters of Paul. Paul was a man of his time, and he was a person transformed by Christ. Some of his letters reflect his clear understanding of God’s will.
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27-28
Other letters show Paul entrapped by the norms of his day. Because Paul was a product of his times, some of his words eclipse God’s ways.
Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. Ephesians 5:22-24
Paul’s words, because of his faults and failings, contradict God’s will.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Master in heaven. Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the God and not for humans… Colossians 3:22-23
Paul’s eyes were turned toward heaven while his feet were standing on earth. Christ had redeemed Paul, and the Apostle Paul still needed to work on his redemption.
Many people Jesus encountered had their minds on heaven while their feet were planted on earth. This was the case for the Sadducees. They believed in God and obeyed the laws and commandments in the Bible. At the same time, they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and denied Jesus was the Messiah. The Sadducees’ work on their salvation was persistent and reverent, but lacked humility. The Sadducees asked Jesus a question. The question was designed to demonstrate their righteousness and show Jesus up as an idolatrous fraud. Feigning respect for Jesus, the Sadducees addressed him as they would a colleague.
Teacher, biblical law commands us to care for and protect widows. When a man dies without his wife giving birth to a son, the law requires that man’s brother to marry her. If all the brothers of this man, in turn, takes her in marriage, has no male heir, and predecease her; when she gets to heaven, whose wife will she be? Luke 20:28-33
The Sadducees understanding of God’s will was compromised by the norms of their day. In their day, females were property and had no agency. Females belonged to their fathers, brothers, husbands, or sons. Males were obligated to protect and had the right to use females as they saw fit. When Jesus responded to the Sadducees he put things into perspective, divine perspective. Jesus explained, on earth men marry and women are given away in marriage. Luke 20:34 On earth, people claim ownership of things and people. On earth, we deny the dignity and agency of people not like us, people we don’t like, and people we fear. This is not the case in heaven. In heaven people are neither married nor given in marriage because everyone is a child of God. Luke 20:35 Every person (male and female) is made in the image of God. Every person has agency and dignity. Every person should be respected. While we dwell on earth, God expects God’s children to install, obey, and safeguard heaven’s standards. Jesus’ response to the Sadducees’ question shows how worldly norms can obscure God’s ways. Jesus’ response also shows worldly norms infiltrating the Bible, generating messages that contradict God’s will. The Sadducees needed to work on their salvation with fear and trembling. They needed to continue to be persistent in study and worship. They needed to assess their reverence for God’s revelations, especially revelations that neither fit their assumptions nor fit what is recorded in the Bible. The Sadducees needed to add a large dose of humility to salvation work.
We also need to work on our salvation with fear and trembling. We must do this work, not because salvation is earned or God’s love has to be merited. Salvation is a gift from God. God loves us just as we are. In Jesus, God liberates us from death and sin. Working on our salvation is a choice. A choice to make our spiritual journey with humility, reverence, and persistence. A choice to partner with God in liberating ourselves, others, and the world from sin and death.
The prophet Isaiah concluded, “There is no rest for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22 There’s no rest for the wicked because you choose to utilize God’s blessings (of forgiveness and love) as tools to work on our salvation. God is calling us to liberate ourselves from sin and death. God is inviting us to partner with God in liberating ourselves, others, and this world from sin and death. The magnificent gift of salvation is not confined to life after death. The gift of salvation has the power to transform any and every death-dealing norm or system in this world. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. In Christ, there is no male or female, slave or free, east or west. In Christ there can be one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth. There is and will be liberation from sin and death whenever and wherever we work on our salvation with fear and trembling; with humility, reverence, and persistence.
