The Tuesday after Cantate Sunday
Posted on May 5, 2026 by under
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (NKJV)
5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Devotion
When our faith lays hold of Christ we become new creatures. When we are in Christ, God does not see our trespasses; that is, He does not condemn us for our sins and our failings. This does not deny that we all have our sins. Instead, it clearly lays out that the guilt that is ours has been paid for by the only one who truly can pay that price, the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Because the Holy Spirit lives within us who believe this, He also helps to teach us how to live according to God’s Law. Thus, we do not live for ourselves, but we are followers of Christ, who paid this debt for us. As St. Paul said to the Romans (6:1-10), we died to sin; how could we live in it any more?
This new holiness is only possible because of the help of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us and strengthens us in this faith through Word and Sacrament. That is why the ministry of reconciliation is so vital—it is the means by which God’s grace comes to us.
Collect: O God, Who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will: Grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest, and desire what Thou dost promise; that, among the manifold changes of this world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
