Our Sacred Roots: The Priesthood of All Believers

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T he S eason after P entecost

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost July 10 - 16, 2022 • Proper 10

WEEK 33

On Pentecost we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit to earth on Christ’s believers, his infilling of the people of God, the Church. Through him, the third person of the Trinity, Jesus our Lord is now present with his people. The Spirit is the guarantee of the promised inheritance to come. We ponder the fullness and mystery of our God’s person and work in our celebration on Trinity Sunday.

THIS WEEK’S THEME The Great Confession: A Believing Stance Believe the Gospel of Christ, 1 Corinthians 15.3-8

Paul tells the Corinthians that he delivered to them “as of first importance” what he himself had also received: the facts of the Gospel message. First, Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; next, that Jesus was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. Then, the risen Savior appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, and also to more than five hundred brothers at once (most of whom were alive at the time of the writing of his epistle). Paul finishes his “fact sheet” by saying the Lord appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and finally to himself, “as to one untimely born.” Paul considered himself to be the “least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Yet God’s grace overcame his rebellion, causing him to work harder than all the other apostles for Christ’s mission. Truly, the Gospel of salvation and the resurrection of Jesus are intimately connected. Because Jesus lives, we know that he paid our penalty, that God has accepted his sacrifice, and that our hope is real. This is the Gospel that we received, and in which we stand.

Jesus of Nazareth entrusted to the Apostles a good deposit of faith that the church receives, guards, and passes down.