Saturday, April 6, 2019

Sunday Sermon, March 31st -- The Mercy of Christ Supersedes the Justice of the Old Testament (Father Ryan Erlenbush, Corpus Christi Parish)

The traditional Old Testament reading associated with the Gospel Parable of the Prodigal Son is the story of Jacob and Esau. These are two tales of brothers, in which the younger is favored and the elder becomes angry. However, notice the difference of these two -- in the Old Testament, it Jacob who is just and Esau who sold his birth-rite; but in the New Testament, it is the prodigal son who is favored while the older brother seemed to be just.

Again, consider the traditional association of the Old Testament passage of Susanna with the Gospel story of the woman caught in adultery. Susanna was innocent and so was vindicated, but the woman of the Gospel was truly guilty and yet was spared.

The Law given through Moses indicated innocence and guilt, but the Grace and Truth which comes through the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes further yet: Jesus makes the guilty to become truly innocent.





Listen online [here]!




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