Readings: Psalm 27:1, 4-9, Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-23, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 26th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
I recall watching a skit that featured two guys who meet together and begin talking about the churches that they went to. It went something like this.
One says, 'I go to the Baptist Church'.'
'Really' replied the other 'Me too'. '
'Second Baptist?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist'.
'Second Baptist, American?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist, American!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist?'
' Yeah, Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal?'
'Yeah! Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal?'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal, meets at 10:00 a.m?'
'NO WAY' replies the other 'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal, THAT meets at 11:00 a.m.'
'I knew there was something weird about you!' said the first one and gets up and walks away.
“HERETIC!” the other shouts after him!
The Church United? Paul writes : “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Over the last centuries the Presbyterian Church has divided numerous times into different camps over what seemed at the time to be irreconcilable differences. From attitudes towards slavery, towards women in ministry, from what creeds we adopt, to debates over evolution and creation.
The big dividing issue of our own day is that of sexuality. Who should and who shouldn't be allowed to exercise ministry in the church, and who in our society should be permitted to marry... and... the larger debate in the light of more folk co-habiting and divorce rates spiraling... just what constitutes a marriage?
In the light of what we know now, and what we presume people knew when they were inspired to write the words, how do we interpret the text in a way that is faithful both to the God of sacred history and to the insights God has granted us in our day?
I know if I raise a subject like this there are going to be a lot of contradictory views in the room. There will be strong differences of opinion. Some may feel that their belief is so deeply held... that all they can do is walk away from those with whom they differ. Which is an enormous shame.
Because Jesus prayed that we may be One, as He and His Father were One. And we've already heard Paul encouraging us to have no divisions amongst us, but to be of the same mind. Which is, of course, very hard to do, if you are not of the same mind! Is there a way through times of disagreement? What does it take to be the Church United, the church that Paul invites us to become, the kind of church Jesus prayed we would be?
In our reading today a key verse is 1:13, Paul puts three questions before the Corinthians; “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” I'd like to take each of those challenging questions in reverse order!
Were we baptized in the name of Paul?
Baptism is one of those huge historic issues that has divided the church, so there is a strange irony to the question Paul places before us. Where any of us baptized in his name? Of course not. Paul is clear that he saw his mission as one of preaching the gospel. He says 'I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you' but then backs up a little and says, 'Well actually I did baptize Crispus and Gaius, oh yeah, and the household of Stephanas, but I think that was all!”
It is as though he's saying that baptism was significant, but there were far more important things for him, in particular preaching the gospel of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. That task was so high above all the others that it made him forgetful when it came to lesser matters such as baptism.
He was not saying that baptism didn't matter. Baptism marked a great way to begin the life of discipleship. It was a sign of belonging. But not of belonging to the person who baptized you, or even to the church that administered the sacrament, but belonging to Jesus Christ. No matter who performed the baptism or in which church it took place, we were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ.
One way to get over our disagreements is by asking whose name we were baptized into. Of course there will be those who will then suggest that our way of baptism isn't really the right way of baptism so it doesn't really count whose name it was in. To which I can only respond, 'Really?'
Because Baptism is a sign of our identity. Paul was concerned that it was being misused in a way that identified the act with a person or an institution rather than being an act of identification with Jesus and the Kingdom He came to establish.
Which is precisely what those who insist that their way of baptism is better than another traditions way of baptism are seeking to do. To use baptism, not as a way of including people, but excluding them! As though that was somehow John's intention when he went down to the waters and invited everybody to turn their lives round. As though that was why Jesus identified Himself with us by going forward and receiving the baptism John offered (even though, he had nothing to repent of.)
If we can get over arguing about the mode we were baptized with and actually remember whose name we are baptized into; then maybe we can recognize that all those who are baptized into Jesus name are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Was Paul crucified for you?
According to historic tradition Paul ended his life at the time of Nero's persecution of the church, not through crucifixion, but by being beheaded near or in Rome. However Paul at the time he wrote this letter had no knowledge that such would be his fate, so it's a mute point! We could be pedantic and argue that Paul did give his life as a sacrifice in the service of a church that would be formed by his teachings, but to argue that meant that Paul, and not Jesus, died for our sins, just makes no sense.
That is Paul's point! He could not die for another persons salvation. Only Jesus had done and could do such a thing. Only Jesus was the Son of God, born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. Only Jesus had an amazing ministry that backed up every awesome word He spoke. Only Jesus was crucified and prayed 'Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing'. Only Jesus was raised to life on the third day. And it was Jesus who appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus saying “Why do you persecute me?” not Paul who went out looking for Jesus!
Paul's point, very simply, is that only Jesus is our Savior. That no matter what denomination we may belong to, that no matter how correct we feel our particular interpretation of theology is, no matter who we think should be in or out of the Kingdom, no matter how many prayers we pray or services we attend, or acts of charity we accomplish... at the end of all things, only Jesus is our Savior.
Furthermore, only Jesus is our neighbors Savior. In other words, Jesus did not just die to save us, His salvation is also what will save that person we don't see eye to eye with, the one who has a very different understanding of what Christianity is and the one who attends a church with a very different history, culture and tradition from ours. Paul... and our interpretation of Paul is no help when it comes to salvation. After all it is Paul who asks us 'Was Paul crucified for you?” Which brings us to our final observation.
Is Christ divided?
The answer is 'NO!' The Church is divided. Christians around the world often find it impossible to get along with each other. We are experts at thinking only we have got it right. We are giants when it comes to building walls, breaking down bridges and fixing what isn't actually broken. We have an innate ability to think that our preferences are God's requirements and that our words and doctrines and views are the only ones which count.
But at the end of the day there is only, as the hymn writer so perfectly pictures it, 'One Faith, one Church and one Lord'. And just maybe, if we can dream of what will eventually be the reality, we can, in our better moments, step back from our judgmental attitudes and shallow judgments and build on what really matters. That in God's eyes there is only one faith...it's called 'Trust in God', only one church, the one that Jesus invites us to be part of, and only one Lord, the One God sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved though Him. Christ is not divided.
Not being satisfied with His initial crucifixion, it appears that every generation invents a new way to rip His body apart, but thankfully God's power of resurrection is so much greater than our ability for destruction, so there will come a time when we see Him as He really is, and there will be a time when all things come together as they should!
But until that day.... maybe, rather than seeking to use Paul to speak for us, we can actually listen to what he offers us on the subject of the church united! “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Such unity can only be found as we recognize our mutual baptism into Jesus name, our only hope for salvation as being in and through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and understand that despite all our attempts to pull apart from each other, it is ultimately a futile task, because we are the body of Christ, even when we try our utmost to say to other parts of the body that we belong far more than they do!
May the unity that Jesus prayed we may achieve, a unity that resembles that which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit, not be seen as an unreachable goal, or an unachievable illusion, but a genuine part of the Kingdom that we pray may be 'done upon earth as it is in heaven'.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Simply Serve
Reading: Psalm 40:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42, Isaiah 49:1-7
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 19th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
Our bible reading this morning is from part of a section of Isaiah that’s often referred to as “The Servant Songs”. These chapters talk about one who intervenes on behalf of the people, and through their suffering, shows the light of God.
The servant is sometimes identified with the leaders or the faithful people of Israel. They were going through a difficult time. The people had, by and large, been unfaithful to God and those who had the task of proclaiming God’s word were frustrated and disillusioned. In verse 4 the servant complains, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing”
Through Isaiah God addresses the cast down ones… “Don’t give up now. I knew you before you were even born; I’ve got plans for you that are bigger than you can even dream. What you are going through now is all part of something much bigger than you could ever know. Just hold on!”
Christian writers see in these “Servant Song” passages, prophecies about Jesus. He was the One who came to be a sign for all. He was born for a purpose that had been written into the fabric of creation from the beginning.
Though He never traveled far from his home, though He never wrote a book or did anything that would designate him as a King, - though He was often hated, misunderstood and would eventually die upon a cross – all that He went through would be a sign that God had not abandoned the world to an uncertain fate. Rather, God was intervening in the life of the world, through the ministry of God’s suffering servant son, Jesus Christ.
It’s a bible reading that addresses Servants of God. Every Christian is a servant of God. We may not all be called to serve in the same way, but we are called to serve. These words therefore have something to say to each of us. Let me pull out just a couple of things, this passage can teach us.
The first thing this passage does is Remind us who we are and whose we are
Who are we? The people of God called for a purpose and here for a reason. To paraphrase verses one through three, and put them in the first person, through this passage Isaiah addresses us with a word from God that says: -
“I called you mine when you were still unborn, I knew your name before your parent’s even thought of it, I’ve guided you over the years and protected you, I have selected you for a particular purpose, and you are my servant, through whom I desire to reveal my glory”.
We may have a whole list of why God has made a mistake in calling us as servants. We’re too old. We’re too young. We’ve got family responsibilities. There’s people better suited to the task – personality wise, economically, in terms of natural abilities, charisma, health, you name it...
‘Lord, you really need to get somebody else to do that.... And in any case, it’s not like we haven’t tried! I mean listen, Lord, you just don’t understand what it’s like being us! You don’t realize what we have to put up with. We’ve tried telling people that Your way is best, but do they listen? We’ve tried living it for ourselves – well, kind of tried – could have tried harder – we admit that – but we’re just not made of the right stuff, know what I’m saying?'
So we need to hear it again. “I called you mine when you were still unborn, I knew your name before your parent’s even thought of it, I’ve guided you over the years and protected You, I have selected you for a particular purpose, and you are my servant, through whom I desire to reveal my glory”.
Having reminded us who we are and whose we are, a second perspective this passage offers us is to say; Don't get bogged down in the details - simply serve!
The servant becomes disillusioned because the servant thought in terms of a particular job that had to be done in a particular way within a particular time framework. That’s how things work in the world, isn’t it? We make plans. We carry them out. They work out. Things get done.
God’s way of doing things isn’t our plan. God’s way is the way of mystery and acceptance, sometimes the way of struggle and tears. Think about the whole history of Old Testament Israel. There’s a whole lot of things in there nobody could predict. Shepherd Boys becoming Kings. Babies floating around in baskets. Prisoners becoming Presidents. Walls falling down at blasts of trumpets. No human mind sits down and comes up with those sorts of plans.
Is the New Testament any different? A Savior born in a stable? Fishermen as disciples? Tax Collectors as models of behavior? Good Samaritans?
The very symbol of faith – the cross of Jesus Christ. A symbol of torture and death. This is what we celebrate? This is our redemption? You see, in the Kingdom of God, there is always a bigger picture. And most of the time we don’t see it.
The Servant is told, (verse 6, slightly paraphrased) “It is too little a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, I’ve got something more in store. I will also make you a light of the nations so that my Salvation may reach to the end of the earth!”
The Servant couldn’t see that right then. Often times we can’t see or understand why things don’t work out or why things don’t happen as we had expected. We make big stuff out of the small stuff. So much so, that we don’t always believe that there can be a bigger picture. We easily lose heart and become discouraged. Rather than becoming bogged down in the details stuff we’re meant to shine our light through simply serving.
I think of some of the stories and characters of people that have moved me over the years. Helen Keller. Corrie Ten-Boom. The Diary of Anne Frank. Rocket Boys. ‘Cool Running's’ - The Jamaican Bobsled Team. A thread that runs through the lives and rhythms of such stories is that of overcoming adversity, doing the unexpected with the ordinary clay of human life and experience.
Every day we live we face the challenge of allowing the small stuff of our lives to be the place where the work of God is given free reign. Such a witness – the light that shines in the ordinary – the extraordinary way the human spirit can face a challenge and rise above the problem - is truly inspirational. We are called to simply serve.
Just by seeking to live a faithful life in the midst of the often-mundane things we have to do, can shine a light that we don’t even know is glowing. I recall in a previous church in which I served a lady coming out of the service and telling me “I'll always remember what you said to me, when you were looking at the picture in the friendship hall”.
Could I remember? Did I even have a clue what she was talking about or recall a picture in the Fellowship Hall, or the circumstances that evolved from that conversation? I remain clueless. But I’m very glad God used some, probably off the wall comment, I’d made about something, and it had been a blessing to somebody. I received this quiz in an e-mail. I don’t want you to answer out loud, but think in your head the answers to the following questions.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do? If you did anything like me, even if you ever knew the answers, your memory of these great achievers has passed. The applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. So here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one. Again I don’t want you to answer out loud, but think about the answers to these questions.
1. Name a teacher who helped your journey through school.
2. Name a friend who has helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name two people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of three people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of four people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name five heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Easier than the last quiz? The simple lesson is that the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that take the time to care.
Little actions, little words, little prayers, little thoughts… the small stuff. The way we handle the rough things that come along. The criticisms we sometimes get. The pains and troubles and sicknesses. The not nice side of life. The way we handle these things can shine an unexpected light for others.
The gospel is one of light that shines through adversity. The light of the cross. The frightening emptiness of an empty tomb. The uncontrollable wind and flame of Pentecost. The unlikely characters of James and Peter and Paul who became the pioneers of the early church.
Across the centuries, the gospel has spread because of people who knew who they were and whose they were, people who didn’t get bogged down in the details but dared to believe God had a larger framework in which to place their lives, people who believed that simple, small, sincere acts of service were the greatest witness that they could make to the big things in their lives; the big love of God, the Great testimony of Jesus Christ, and the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.
So two simple things this morning, drawn from our reading from Isaiah.
Remember who and whose you are. You are a servant of God. Full of potential and much blessed. Claimed as God's own through Jesus Christ. God tells the servant “I called you mine when you were still unborn”
Don't get bogged down in the details, simply serve. Spiritual influence is so much more memorable than worldly achievement. Do the small things that make a BIG difference. The servant was told “It is too little a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, I’ve got something more in store”. God always has more in store when we pursue God's ways!
So may God help us to let our little light shine. May we learn to simply serve, and leave the rest up to the work of God's grace. And to God's name be all honor, praise and glory. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 19th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
Our bible reading this morning is from part of a section of Isaiah that’s often referred to as “The Servant Songs”. These chapters talk about one who intervenes on behalf of the people, and through their suffering, shows the light of God.
The servant is sometimes identified with the leaders or the faithful people of Israel. They were going through a difficult time. The people had, by and large, been unfaithful to God and those who had the task of proclaiming God’s word were frustrated and disillusioned. In verse 4 the servant complains, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing”
Through Isaiah God addresses the cast down ones… “Don’t give up now. I knew you before you were even born; I’ve got plans for you that are bigger than you can even dream. What you are going through now is all part of something much bigger than you could ever know. Just hold on!”
Christian writers see in these “Servant Song” passages, prophecies about Jesus. He was the One who came to be a sign for all. He was born for a purpose that had been written into the fabric of creation from the beginning.
Though He never traveled far from his home, though He never wrote a book or did anything that would designate him as a King, - though He was often hated, misunderstood and would eventually die upon a cross – all that He went through would be a sign that God had not abandoned the world to an uncertain fate. Rather, God was intervening in the life of the world, through the ministry of God’s suffering servant son, Jesus Christ.
It’s a bible reading that addresses Servants of God. Every Christian is a servant of God. We may not all be called to serve in the same way, but we are called to serve. These words therefore have something to say to each of us. Let me pull out just a couple of things, this passage can teach us.
The first thing this passage does is Remind us who we are and whose we are
Who are we? The people of God called for a purpose and here for a reason. To paraphrase verses one through three, and put them in the first person, through this passage Isaiah addresses us with a word from God that says: -
“I called you mine when you were still unborn, I knew your name before your parent’s even thought of it, I’ve guided you over the years and protected you, I have selected you for a particular purpose, and you are my servant, through whom I desire to reveal my glory”.
We may have a whole list of why God has made a mistake in calling us as servants. We’re too old. We’re too young. We’ve got family responsibilities. There’s people better suited to the task – personality wise, economically, in terms of natural abilities, charisma, health, you name it...
‘Lord, you really need to get somebody else to do that.... And in any case, it’s not like we haven’t tried! I mean listen, Lord, you just don’t understand what it’s like being us! You don’t realize what we have to put up with. We’ve tried telling people that Your way is best, but do they listen? We’ve tried living it for ourselves – well, kind of tried – could have tried harder – we admit that – but we’re just not made of the right stuff, know what I’m saying?'
So we need to hear it again. “I called you mine when you were still unborn, I knew your name before your parent’s even thought of it, I’ve guided you over the years and protected You, I have selected you for a particular purpose, and you are my servant, through whom I desire to reveal my glory”.
Having reminded us who we are and whose we are, a second perspective this passage offers us is to say; Don't get bogged down in the details - simply serve!
The servant becomes disillusioned because the servant thought in terms of a particular job that had to be done in a particular way within a particular time framework. That’s how things work in the world, isn’t it? We make plans. We carry them out. They work out. Things get done.
God’s way of doing things isn’t our plan. God’s way is the way of mystery and acceptance, sometimes the way of struggle and tears. Think about the whole history of Old Testament Israel. There’s a whole lot of things in there nobody could predict. Shepherd Boys becoming Kings. Babies floating around in baskets. Prisoners becoming Presidents. Walls falling down at blasts of trumpets. No human mind sits down and comes up with those sorts of plans.
Is the New Testament any different? A Savior born in a stable? Fishermen as disciples? Tax Collectors as models of behavior? Good Samaritans?
The very symbol of faith – the cross of Jesus Christ. A symbol of torture and death. This is what we celebrate? This is our redemption? You see, in the Kingdom of God, there is always a bigger picture. And most of the time we don’t see it.
The Servant is told, (verse 6, slightly paraphrased) “It is too little a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, I’ve got something more in store. I will also make you a light of the nations so that my Salvation may reach to the end of the earth!”
The Servant couldn’t see that right then. Often times we can’t see or understand why things don’t work out or why things don’t happen as we had expected. We make big stuff out of the small stuff. So much so, that we don’t always believe that there can be a bigger picture. We easily lose heart and become discouraged. Rather than becoming bogged down in the details stuff we’re meant to shine our light through simply serving.
I think of some of the stories and characters of people that have moved me over the years. Helen Keller. Corrie Ten-Boom. The Diary of Anne Frank. Rocket Boys. ‘Cool Running's’ - The Jamaican Bobsled Team. A thread that runs through the lives and rhythms of such stories is that of overcoming adversity, doing the unexpected with the ordinary clay of human life and experience.
Every day we live we face the challenge of allowing the small stuff of our lives to be the place where the work of God is given free reign. Such a witness – the light that shines in the ordinary – the extraordinary way the human spirit can face a challenge and rise above the problem - is truly inspirational. We are called to simply serve.
Just by seeking to live a faithful life in the midst of the often-mundane things we have to do, can shine a light that we don’t even know is glowing. I recall in a previous church in which I served a lady coming out of the service and telling me “I'll always remember what you said to me, when you were looking at the picture in the friendship hall”.
Could I remember? Did I even have a clue what she was talking about or recall a picture in the Fellowship Hall, or the circumstances that evolved from that conversation? I remain clueless. But I’m very glad God used some, probably off the wall comment, I’d made about something, and it had been a blessing to somebody. I received this quiz in an e-mail. I don’t want you to answer out loud, but think in your head the answers to the following questions.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do? If you did anything like me, even if you ever knew the answers, your memory of these great achievers has passed. The applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners. So here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one. Again I don’t want you to answer out loud, but think about the answers to these questions.
1. Name a teacher who helped your journey through school.
2. Name a friend who has helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name two people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of three people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of four people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name five heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Easier than the last quiz? The simple lesson is that the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that take the time to care.
Little actions, little words, little prayers, little thoughts… the small stuff. The way we handle the rough things that come along. The criticisms we sometimes get. The pains and troubles and sicknesses. The not nice side of life. The way we handle these things can shine an unexpected light for others.
The gospel is one of light that shines through adversity. The light of the cross. The frightening emptiness of an empty tomb. The uncontrollable wind and flame of Pentecost. The unlikely characters of James and Peter and Paul who became the pioneers of the early church.
Across the centuries, the gospel has spread because of people who knew who they were and whose they were, people who didn’t get bogged down in the details but dared to believe God had a larger framework in which to place their lives, people who believed that simple, small, sincere acts of service were the greatest witness that they could make to the big things in their lives; the big love of God, the Great testimony of Jesus Christ, and the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.
So two simple things this morning, drawn from our reading from Isaiah.
Remember who and whose you are. You are a servant of God. Full of potential and much blessed. Claimed as God's own through Jesus Christ. God tells the servant “I called you mine when you were still unborn”
Don't get bogged down in the details, simply serve. Spiritual influence is so much more memorable than worldly achievement. Do the small things that make a BIG difference. The servant was told “It is too little a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, I’ve got something more in store”. God always has more in store when we pursue God's ways!
So may God help us to let our little light shine. May we learn to simply serve, and leave the rest up to the work of God's grace. And to God's name be all honor, praise and glory. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Character, Compassion & Conviction
BAPTISM OF THE LORD SUNDAY
Readings; Psalm 29, Acts 10:34-43, Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 12th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
In the church calendar today is 'Baptism of the Lord' Sunday. Many congregations will be focusing on the passage we heard from Matthew's gospel 3:6-7 “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as He came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
In his description of the baptism of Jesus Matthew references passages from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, that are known as 'The Servant Songs'. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is both the beloved Son and the beloved Servant of God.
We also are much loved sons and daughters of God, adopted into God's family, by grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ. This passage from Isaiah paints a picture of the characteristics a follower of Jesus should strive to embody. The Servant Songs speak about the character, compassion and conviction that drive a servant of God.
The Character of Christ
Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.”
The mission of the servant is to bring God's justice to the nations. Now, I can't speak for you, but if I was on a campaign for international domination, I would want to mobilize a lot of different forces. A lot of people would need to hear and understand, so I would need to make a lot of noise. There would have to be media overload, a lot of propaganda, a lot of promotion.
I would have to mobilize the grass roots so that everybody, in every street, of every town and city was fully behind me. Because a lot of people wouldn't want to be taken over, I'd probably need some military might. So it is astounding that when God speaks of His servant who will bring justice to all the nations, we read that “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.”
In the original Hebrew, the word 'voice' is absent. The passage literally translated would read “He will not shout out, or cry out, or lift up” What won't he 'lift up?' His voice, of course, but the verb nasah (to lift up) is also used in the Old Testament to describe the 'arms' that are lifted up in battle. In other words this servant will not 'lift up' the kinds of weapons we might expect. There will be no military campaign or media blitz.
Another Old testament prophet, who faced what seemed like an impossible task, was a prophet called Zechariah. He was given a message that said;‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts”. This is translated in the Good News Bible, 'You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my Spirit.'
That intersects with the first part of Isaiah speaking of the servant about whom God says, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him,”
The character of Christ was formed by His total reliance upon God to empower Him and accomplish through Him the mission that God intended. The power of Jesus is not shown through His ability to dominate others or His excellent promotional skills, but through His dependance upon God, whom He knows loves Him, and whom He sees as empowering Him through the Holy Spirit, visualized at His baptism as coming down upon Him as a dove, an emblem of peace, and through a voice that declared, 'This is my beloved Son, I am well pleased with Him!”
To be a servant of God, we don't need to be the biggest or the best, or the strongest or the loudest. We don't need to run an ad-campaign or devote ourselves to self promotion as though we were running for election. Our identity is found through our relationship with God, our character is formed by allowing God's Holy Spirit to graciously mold our lives. Our security is found though knowing that we are children of God over whom God rejoices and with whom God is well pleased. Our calling is revealed when we surrender our will to God's will and seek to be the people God wants us to be. God calls us to be people who have the capacity to love, because they know themselves much loved. Which beings us to a second characteristic of Jesus.
The compassion of Christ
Isaiah 42:3 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.'
How do reeds become bruised or broken? By the forces of nature or of people. Reeds become broken because of storms and diseases, because of people trampling over them, because of inadequate nourishment. We are reeds, subject to the forces of life that we cannot control and that sometimes descend on us with frightening speed. We live our lives in a bruised and broken condition.
The Servant will not crush one who has been bruised or broken. He knows the weaknesses and abundant vulnerabilities of people and decides that the best thing to do is to caress and hold the crushed reeds and not to destroy them.
Likewise with the smoldering wick. Let's face it. We are not often people burning with a bright flame of compassion and love. We are often just hanging in there. We are smoldering disciples. This verse tells us that God knows our every weakness and that it is the purpose of God's love not to destroy but to renew and bring hope, to rekindle our passions and dreams.
To quote a sermon by Rev. Bill Long “There is something so utterly attractive about the gentleness of this servant. He knows us and serves us in our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. He isn't the one who comes in to give us a blast of the divine power or a show of mighty strength. He is more like the quiet and sensitive physician who carefully sets a broken bone than one who is going to raise up the banner in the battlefield. He recognizes and accommodates human weakness.”
Throughout His ministry the compassion of Christ is so glaringly obvious that it seems unnecessary to even mention it. However, the compassion of some folk who claim to follow Him can be sadly lacking. As one cynic commented, “Jesus I like. It's his followers that I have problem with!”
Friends, we need to learn to be gentle with one another. I know of too many people who want nothing to do with the church because of the judgmental words or actions of church members, the disapproving stare, the unspoken prejudice, the attitude that declares 'You don't really belong here' has shut the door to them. Call it self righteousness, call it cliquishness, call it snobbery, call it whatever you like, that is not who Christ called us to be or the way we are expected to act. And we need to be delivered from it because we are all guilty of it. I include myself in that condemnation.
We become focused on our own needs, we let our frustrations get the better of us, we simply don't take the time to care. Our love,our witness, it doesn't blaze, it smolders. We cradle our hurts and lash out at any who get near to us. So hear these words about the compassion of Jesus Christ. 'A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.'
If today you are hurting, if today you are feeling you are dieing inside, if today you are feeling overwhelmed or over burdened, take courage and bring those things to the Savior. Know His love as a remedy, His Spirit as a healing power, His grace as a renewing force. That's why Jesus came, so we may know God's love at work within us, around us and through us. John 3:17 'For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” That's why He went to the Cross.
The Conviction of Christ
Isaiah 42:4 “He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth”
One of the astonishing things about Jesus was that He never gave up. Though He was subjected to all the forces that trample us down and break our resolve, He never became that broken reed or that smoldering wick. We speak of Him as the 'Bread of Life 'and 'Light of the World.'
A New Testament Servant Song appears in Phillipians 2:7-8 which tells us “He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross! “
The conviction of Jesus. He knew at His baptism, He was called by God. He knew that His mission was not to be carried out through the ways of violence and domination, but through compassion and self-giving. He lived a life of obedience, even up to the Cross. Was it easy? Was it simple?
No! He sweated blood over the demands God placed upon Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane He pleaded with His Father, “Let this cup pass from me....Yet not my will, but Thine be done.”
To be convicted of something means that it won't let you go. If a criminal is convicted in a court of law, then they face a sentence. Because of their conviction they have to do their time or pay their fine. But the conviction that love places upon us, is not a sentence to be endured or a punishment without reward, but a mission to be embraced, a mission that lifts up justice, a mission that empowers the weak and lifts up the fallen, a conviction that flows from compassion and is deeply related to the character of God that Kingdom living calls us to embrace.
We are the baptized children of God. The great reformer Martin Luther used to encourage his congregants to “Live into their Baptisms.” To put it another way, to be the people God claimed them to be when their lives, at the Font, were dedicated to God's service.
To do that we need to be people whose character is formed, not by their own power or might, but by the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. We need to find our security in knowing ourselves much loved children of God with whom God is well pleased. Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations."
To live into our baptisms means seeking to practice the compassion of Christ. To put away harshness and be gentle with one another. To take with all due seriousness the mission embodied in the servants call of Isaiah 42:3 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.'
To live into our baptisms means having a sense of the conviction of Christ. Isaiah 42:4 “He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth.” The baptism of Jesus was the start, not the conclusion. Temptation would follow. Ministry would come. The lives of many would be changed. The world is not the same place because the love of Jesus has been expressed in so many ways and so many times and so many places.
Jesus calls us now to be His hands and His feet, His ears and His voice, to be the ones who continue His mission in our day, amongst our people, in God's way! May God help us, through the strength of His Holy Spirit to live into our baptisms in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Readings; Psalm 29, Acts 10:34-43, Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 42:1-9
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 12th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
In the church calendar today is 'Baptism of the Lord' Sunday. Many congregations will be focusing on the passage we heard from Matthew's gospel 3:6-7 “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as He came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
In his description of the baptism of Jesus Matthew references passages from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, that are known as 'The Servant Songs'. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is both the beloved Son and the beloved Servant of God.
We also are much loved sons and daughters of God, adopted into God's family, by grace, through our faith in Jesus Christ. This passage from Isaiah paints a picture of the characteristics a follower of Jesus should strive to embody. The Servant Songs speak about the character, compassion and conviction that drive a servant of God.
The Character of Christ
Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.”
The mission of the servant is to bring God's justice to the nations. Now, I can't speak for you, but if I was on a campaign for international domination, I would want to mobilize a lot of different forces. A lot of people would need to hear and understand, so I would need to make a lot of noise. There would have to be media overload, a lot of propaganda, a lot of promotion.
I would have to mobilize the grass roots so that everybody, in every street, of every town and city was fully behind me. Because a lot of people wouldn't want to be taken over, I'd probably need some military might. So it is astounding that when God speaks of His servant who will bring justice to all the nations, we read that “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.”
In the original Hebrew, the word 'voice' is absent. The passage literally translated would read “He will not shout out, or cry out, or lift up” What won't he 'lift up?' His voice, of course, but the verb nasah (to lift up) is also used in the Old Testament to describe the 'arms' that are lifted up in battle. In other words this servant will not 'lift up' the kinds of weapons we might expect. There will be no military campaign or media blitz.
Another Old testament prophet, who faced what seemed like an impossible task, was a prophet called Zechariah. He was given a message that said;‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ saith the Lord of hosts”. This is translated in the Good News Bible, 'You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my Spirit.'
That intersects with the first part of Isaiah speaking of the servant about whom God says, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him,”
The character of Christ was formed by His total reliance upon God to empower Him and accomplish through Him the mission that God intended. The power of Jesus is not shown through His ability to dominate others or His excellent promotional skills, but through His dependance upon God, whom He knows loves Him, and whom He sees as empowering Him through the Holy Spirit, visualized at His baptism as coming down upon Him as a dove, an emblem of peace, and through a voice that declared, 'This is my beloved Son, I am well pleased with Him!”
To be a servant of God, we don't need to be the biggest or the best, or the strongest or the loudest. We don't need to run an ad-campaign or devote ourselves to self promotion as though we were running for election. Our identity is found through our relationship with God, our character is formed by allowing God's Holy Spirit to graciously mold our lives. Our security is found though knowing that we are children of God over whom God rejoices and with whom God is well pleased. Our calling is revealed when we surrender our will to God's will and seek to be the people God wants us to be. God calls us to be people who have the capacity to love, because they know themselves much loved. Which beings us to a second characteristic of Jesus.
The compassion of Christ
Isaiah 42:3 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.'
How do reeds become bruised or broken? By the forces of nature or of people. Reeds become broken because of storms and diseases, because of people trampling over them, because of inadequate nourishment. We are reeds, subject to the forces of life that we cannot control and that sometimes descend on us with frightening speed. We live our lives in a bruised and broken condition.
The Servant will not crush one who has been bruised or broken. He knows the weaknesses and abundant vulnerabilities of people and decides that the best thing to do is to caress and hold the crushed reeds and not to destroy them.
Likewise with the smoldering wick. Let's face it. We are not often people burning with a bright flame of compassion and love. We are often just hanging in there. We are smoldering disciples. This verse tells us that God knows our every weakness and that it is the purpose of God's love not to destroy but to renew and bring hope, to rekindle our passions and dreams.
To quote a sermon by Rev. Bill Long “There is something so utterly attractive about the gentleness of this servant. He knows us and serves us in our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. He isn't the one who comes in to give us a blast of the divine power or a show of mighty strength. He is more like the quiet and sensitive physician who carefully sets a broken bone than one who is going to raise up the banner in the battlefield. He recognizes and accommodates human weakness.”
Throughout His ministry the compassion of Christ is so glaringly obvious that it seems unnecessary to even mention it. However, the compassion of some folk who claim to follow Him can be sadly lacking. As one cynic commented, “Jesus I like. It's his followers that I have problem with!”
Friends, we need to learn to be gentle with one another. I know of too many people who want nothing to do with the church because of the judgmental words or actions of church members, the disapproving stare, the unspoken prejudice, the attitude that declares 'You don't really belong here' has shut the door to them. Call it self righteousness, call it cliquishness, call it snobbery, call it whatever you like, that is not who Christ called us to be or the way we are expected to act. And we need to be delivered from it because we are all guilty of it. I include myself in that condemnation.
We become focused on our own needs, we let our frustrations get the better of us, we simply don't take the time to care. Our love,our witness, it doesn't blaze, it smolders. We cradle our hurts and lash out at any who get near to us. So hear these words about the compassion of Jesus Christ. 'A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.'
If today you are hurting, if today you are feeling you are dieing inside, if today you are feeling overwhelmed or over burdened, take courage and bring those things to the Savior. Know His love as a remedy, His Spirit as a healing power, His grace as a renewing force. That's why Jesus came, so we may know God's love at work within us, around us and through us. John 3:17 'For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” That's why He went to the Cross.
The Conviction of Christ
Isaiah 42:4 “He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth”
One of the astonishing things about Jesus was that He never gave up. Though He was subjected to all the forces that trample us down and break our resolve, He never became that broken reed or that smoldering wick. We speak of Him as the 'Bread of Life 'and 'Light of the World.'
A New Testament Servant Song appears in Phillipians 2:7-8 which tells us “He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross! “
The conviction of Jesus. He knew at His baptism, He was called by God. He knew that His mission was not to be carried out through the ways of violence and domination, but through compassion and self-giving. He lived a life of obedience, even up to the Cross. Was it easy? Was it simple?
No! He sweated blood over the demands God placed upon Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane He pleaded with His Father, “Let this cup pass from me....Yet not my will, but Thine be done.”
To be convicted of something means that it won't let you go. If a criminal is convicted in a court of law, then they face a sentence. Because of their conviction they have to do their time or pay their fine. But the conviction that love places upon us, is not a sentence to be endured or a punishment without reward, but a mission to be embraced, a mission that lifts up justice, a mission that empowers the weak and lifts up the fallen, a conviction that flows from compassion and is deeply related to the character of God that Kingdom living calls us to embrace.
We are the baptized children of God. The great reformer Martin Luther used to encourage his congregants to “Live into their Baptisms.” To put it another way, to be the people God claimed them to be when their lives, at the Font, were dedicated to God's service.
To do that we need to be people whose character is formed, not by their own power or might, but by the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. We need to find our security in knowing ourselves much loved children of God with whom God is well pleased. Isaiah 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations."
To live into our baptisms means seeking to practice the compassion of Christ. To put away harshness and be gentle with one another. To take with all due seriousness the mission embodied in the servants call of Isaiah 42:3 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.'
To live into our baptisms means having a sense of the conviction of Christ. Isaiah 42:4 “He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth.” The baptism of Jesus was the start, not the conclusion. Temptation would follow. Ministry would come. The lives of many would be changed. The world is not the same place because the love of Jesus has been expressed in so many ways and so many times and so many places.
Jesus calls us now to be His hands and His feet, His ears and His voice, to be the ones who continue His mission in our day, amongst our people, in God's way! May God help us, through the strength of His Holy Spirit to live into our baptisms in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Words, Words, Words!
Readings; Psalm 147:12-20, Jeremiah 31:7-14, Ephesians 1:3-14, John 1:1-18
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 5th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
Words, Words, Words.
Is there no end to them?
Words, Words, Words.
We teach our children to read and write but do we teach them to value words?
In my study are many books, full of words about this, words about that, words of challenge, words of hope, words of humor, words of description. But what do they all amount to?
I remember being on an airplane and the stewardess offering me a newspaper to read. I picked up an "Atlanta Journal". A Newspaper? More like a library! Who ever reads such a volume from cover to cover?
Words come so easily to us. The written word. The spoken word. They come so easily to us that they have become cheap. So much talking, but so little listening. A constant babble around us. Shouting at us from advertisements. "Buy me - Be popular". "Use this - Find love".
On television, on radio, chatter, chatter, chatter and on and on and on, till we get to a point where the TV is left on and the radio is left talking, but no-ones watching and no-ones listening, just a constant murmuring going on in the background.
Words to songs. We sing them. We sing them again. but often they don't mean anything. As a pop tune once declared "Video killed the radio star".
Even in church with our hymns. Some don't bother to pick up the book yet alone open their mouths. And when they are sung it is sometimes without imagination and without understanding. "Nice tune, but what's it all about?". Where there is no engagement of the mind it becomes just empty noise.
Words from pulpits. How many words have floated over pews, but have never been received, never been chewed upon nor contemplated. The Words of the Bible. "Oh, I know that passage... but I'm not sure I like it in that translation, not sure what it means either, but I do like it."
Words, Words, Words.
In the workplace, they used to have typewriters. The aim of the typewriter was to present information clearly. And you could have a carbon copy if you wanted. Now we have "Word Processors" that correct your spelling, reorganize your phrasing, analyze your outline etc., etc.
Could it be that words, in our day, have become devalued simply because there are so accessible? As we come to the Communion table on this first Sunday of the New Year I want to put before you two verses from the Prologue of John's gospel - Chapter 1, verses 1 & 14:
"In the beginning was the Word
The Word was with God
And the Word was God."
"And the Word became flesh
And dwelt among us."
I want to suggest to you this morning that to truly worship God, to truly find the sacrament as something meaningful and powerful, then we must go back to a time before the Word Processor, the TV word, the printing press, back to a time when there was so much silence that words still meant something significant.
In the beginning was the Word
In Greek "Logos". In Hebrew "Dabhar".
In the Old Testament the Dabhar of God was not simply something spoken or written down. It was nothing less than DIVINE CREATIVE ENERGY. "God said "Let there be light" and there was light". The Psalmist writes, "By the word (Dabhar) of the Lord the heavens were created." (Psalm 33).
At a scenic overlook you don't find a sign that says "While you're here take a look at the view". A baby cradled in its' mothers arms doesn't have to say, "Hey, I'm here, Love me". There are no spoken words in a sunset.
In the beginning was the Word.
In the later history of Israel, the Word was also seen as "Wisdom". Not the wisdom of recorded words or philosophy, but the wisdom that gave birth to order in the midst of chaos, wisdom that brought forth light in the midst of darkness and made darkness itself nothing to fear.
Dabhar - Word - implies deeds and action, not just words. It is a something imaginative, active, playful, creative, healing and powerful.
The Word -something which brought things to life, something which created possibilities, something which caused people to open up and blossom like flowers in a desert.
The Word - Not the dullness of a carefully constructed concept, but flowing like a mighty river and with breathtaking significance.
In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God and the Word was God.
Have we damaged our understanding of God with our words? Have we tried to describe God or to contain God? Maybe we have thought that it was in our ability to put down on paper, once and for all, what God is truly like.
The philosophers have tied themselves in knots trying with their words to prove or disprove the existence of God. Theologians have taken the words of Scripture and tried to analyze them and then fallen out with each other because they didn't all reach the same conclusion. Scientists, by formula and observation, have given us their proven theories and then had to eat their words as newer proven theories have materialized.
What arrogance we display through our words. How inadequate they are as a vehicle to convey the awesome mystery of God. - the Word that is God will not be contained by our words. We have become centered on Christianity as a religion of the book rather than a way of being. Maybe if we could open our lives to embrace the life that is God then not only would the written words the Bible contains spring to new life but there would also be far less empty pews in our services of Worship.
Of course, embracing Divine life is a risky business. You can't contain Divine Creative Energy. Who knows where it could lead? The next verse gives us a clue.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Here is the statement that made Christmas worth celebrating. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." What an incredible thought this is. All that Divine energy, which is God, becoming focused in Christ, and He, voluntarily allowing Himself to be subject to all the darkness and despair of Creation. Born in the poverty of a dirty stable and dieing unjustly a criminals death.
Surely as we read the gospel accounts of Jesus work we see in His words, something more than just words. So often His teaching is framed in visual images, in word-pictures, in parables. So often His actions were totally unexpected. Embracing lepers. Befriending prostitutes. Healing the sick. Raising the dead.
Could anybody stop Him? He carried in Himself all that unstoppable creativity that was characteristic of the Word which was God, all that 'Dabhar', Creative, powerful energy. How tremendous was His impact. Johns gospel hits the right button when He writes, "The Word became Flesh and dwelt amongst us"
The life of Jesus gives the creative Word a fuller revelation. It was there all the time but only after Christ had ministered in the world of time would Johns letter describe the nature of God, with this simple phrase... 'GOD IS LOVE'. There's a carol that declares, "Love came down at Christmas". And that was just the beginning.
The Cross. The Resurrection, Christ alive today, His Spirit that cannot be conquered by an unbelieving world, still creating, still bringing joy, still transforming hopeless situations into glorious opportunities of Grace.
But you see... now I'm struggling with the inadequacy of words. To explain things which are without explanation, to put into phrases things which are eternal....
Words, Words, Words.
Words are not enough. Instead, let us come to a table laid with bread and wine and taste and see and know that the Lord is God. Let us acknowledge our inadequacy and His sufficiency. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us in a way that words can never express.
Here at the beginning of a New Year, is an opportunity to lay our lives before God, to seek for God's creative Word to write it's message on our lives and open our hearts to the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
"In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God."
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 5th 2014
A printable PDF file can be found here
Words, Words, Words.
Is there no end to them?
Words, Words, Words.
We teach our children to read and write but do we teach them to value words?
In my study are many books, full of words about this, words about that, words of challenge, words of hope, words of humor, words of description. But what do they all amount to?
I remember being on an airplane and the stewardess offering me a newspaper to read. I picked up an "Atlanta Journal". A Newspaper? More like a library! Who ever reads such a volume from cover to cover?
Words come so easily to us. The written word. The spoken word. They come so easily to us that they have become cheap. So much talking, but so little listening. A constant babble around us. Shouting at us from advertisements. "Buy me - Be popular". "Use this - Find love".
On television, on radio, chatter, chatter, chatter and on and on and on, till we get to a point where the TV is left on and the radio is left talking, but no-ones watching and no-ones listening, just a constant murmuring going on in the background.
Words to songs. We sing them. We sing them again. but often they don't mean anything. As a pop tune once declared "Video killed the radio star".
Even in church with our hymns. Some don't bother to pick up the book yet alone open their mouths. And when they are sung it is sometimes without imagination and without understanding. "Nice tune, but what's it all about?". Where there is no engagement of the mind it becomes just empty noise.
Words from pulpits. How many words have floated over pews, but have never been received, never been chewed upon nor contemplated. The Words of the Bible. "Oh, I know that passage... but I'm not sure I like it in that translation, not sure what it means either, but I do like it."
Words, Words, Words.
In the workplace, they used to have typewriters. The aim of the typewriter was to present information clearly. And you could have a carbon copy if you wanted. Now we have "Word Processors" that correct your spelling, reorganize your phrasing, analyze your outline etc., etc.
Could it be that words, in our day, have become devalued simply because there are so accessible? As we come to the Communion table on this first Sunday of the New Year I want to put before you two verses from the Prologue of John's gospel - Chapter 1, verses 1 & 14:
"In the beginning was the Word
The Word was with God
And the Word was God."
"And the Word became flesh
And dwelt among us."
I want to suggest to you this morning that to truly worship God, to truly find the sacrament as something meaningful and powerful, then we must go back to a time before the Word Processor, the TV word, the printing press, back to a time when there was so much silence that words still meant something significant.
In the beginning was the Word
In Greek "Logos". In Hebrew "Dabhar".
In the Old Testament the Dabhar of God was not simply something spoken or written down. It was nothing less than DIVINE CREATIVE ENERGY. "God said "Let there be light" and there was light". The Psalmist writes, "By the word (Dabhar) of the Lord the heavens were created." (Psalm 33).
At a scenic overlook you don't find a sign that says "While you're here take a look at the view". A baby cradled in its' mothers arms doesn't have to say, "Hey, I'm here, Love me". There are no spoken words in a sunset.
In the beginning was the Word.
In the later history of Israel, the Word was also seen as "Wisdom". Not the wisdom of recorded words or philosophy, but the wisdom that gave birth to order in the midst of chaos, wisdom that brought forth light in the midst of darkness and made darkness itself nothing to fear.
Dabhar - Word - implies deeds and action, not just words. It is a something imaginative, active, playful, creative, healing and powerful.
The Word -something which brought things to life, something which created possibilities, something which caused people to open up and blossom like flowers in a desert.
The Word - Not the dullness of a carefully constructed concept, but flowing like a mighty river and with breathtaking significance.
In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God and the Word was God.
Have we damaged our understanding of God with our words? Have we tried to describe God or to contain God? Maybe we have thought that it was in our ability to put down on paper, once and for all, what God is truly like.
The philosophers have tied themselves in knots trying with their words to prove or disprove the existence of God. Theologians have taken the words of Scripture and tried to analyze them and then fallen out with each other because they didn't all reach the same conclusion. Scientists, by formula and observation, have given us their proven theories and then had to eat their words as newer proven theories have materialized.
What arrogance we display through our words. How inadequate they are as a vehicle to convey the awesome mystery of God. - the Word that is God will not be contained by our words. We have become centered on Christianity as a religion of the book rather than a way of being. Maybe if we could open our lives to embrace the life that is God then not only would the written words the Bible contains spring to new life but there would also be far less empty pews in our services of Worship.
Of course, embracing Divine life is a risky business. You can't contain Divine Creative Energy. Who knows where it could lead? The next verse gives us a clue.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Here is the statement that made Christmas worth celebrating. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." What an incredible thought this is. All that Divine energy, which is God, becoming focused in Christ, and He, voluntarily allowing Himself to be subject to all the darkness and despair of Creation. Born in the poverty of a dirty stable and dieing unjustly a criminals death.
Surely as we read the gospel accounts of Jesus work we see in His words, something more than just words. So often His teaching is framed in visual images, in word-pictures, in parables. So often His actions were totally unexpected. Embracing lepers. Befriending prostitutes. Healing the sick. Raising the dead.
Could anybody stop Him? He carried in Himself all that unstoppable creativity that was characteristic of the Word which was God, all that 'Dabhar', Creative, powerful energy. How tremendous was His impact. Johns gospel hits the right button when He writes, "The Word became Flesh and dwelt amongst us"
The life of Jesus gives the creative Word a fuller revelation. It was there all the time but only after Christ had ministered in the world of time would Johns letter describe the nature of God, with this simple phrase... 'GOD IS LOVE'. There's a carol that declares, "Love came down at Christmas". And that was just the beginning.
The Cross. The Resurrection, Christ alive today, His Spirit that cannot be conquered by an unbelieving world, still creating, still bringing joy, still transforming hopeless situations into glorious opportunities of Grace.
But you see... now I'm struggling with the inadequacy of words. To explain things which are without explanation, to put into phrases things which are eternal....
Words, Words, Words.
Words are not enough. Instead, let us come to a table laid with bread and wine and taste and see and know that the Lord is God. Let us acknowledge our inadequacy and His sufficiency. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us in a way that words can never express.
Here at the beginning of a New Year, is an opportunity to lay our lives before God, to seek for God's creative Word to write it's message on our lives and open our hearts to the love of our Savior Jesus Christ.
"In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God."
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.
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