In the writings of the prophet Isaiah, there are four units known as “Servant Songs” which include elements of “the Suffering Servant.” In our OT reading today, we find the very first of the Servant Songs, where God is introducing his Servant. This Servant is unnamed: those who first heard Isaiah probably would have assumed that the servant is the Nation, Israel. These writings are basically poems describing this chosen servant. This servant of the Lord is chosen to do the work of the Lord, but he ends up being horribly abused. Ultimately, he ends up sacrificing himself, but good ultimately triumphs through tragedy.
In our Old Testament reading, God introduces his servant and describes his work in vs. 1-4, and in the following verses God seems to speak to his Servant, commissioning his work. And the main idea of this Servant Song is Justice. This is to be the aim and work of the Servant, to bring judgment to the world, proclaiming the sovereignty of God, to bring to truth of God to the world, and to establish a just order, to right the wrongs so very evident in the world. God is big on justice and the word justice appears 3 times in the first few verses.
Our text begins with God saying, “Behold my servant.” Here he is, the one that I uphold, the one who is kept for myself, the one in whom my soul delights. This servant is God’s servant. He’s God’s man for the job, and God’s own man. “I have put my Spirit, my presence on him, and he will bring Justice to the nations.” Justice here is God’s truth and the truth about God which will be revealed, brought forth, by this servant.
And the ultimate Servant will do ultimate service, serving the Lord through quiet strength, not aggressive, not threatening, but gentle and compassionate. He will not break a bruised reed, nor quench a dimly burning wick. One would think that a bruised reed is useless, and a smoldering wick is nearly extinct, but not in the eyes of God, not in the hands of the Servant. The servant won’t crush those who are weak, nor snuff out the vulnerable. He understands human weakens and vulnerability, and like a gentle physician seeks to heal our wounds. He will bring justice, making things right.
And he himself will not falter or be discouraged. Though others are weak and vulnerable, the Servant is not. Others falter and are discouraged, and the Servant is not. Others may be dimly burning wicks, but not the Servant. Others may be bruised, but he does not bruise. What might immobilize others won’t discourage this servant. He has the resources not to falter, and resilience against outward foes. He will be strong until justice is established over all the earth, and even the most remote places are waiting for his law, placing their hope in his teaching.
In this next section, God is confirming the task of his servant, and promises results. The emphasis of the Creator God is meant to comfort his people. God who created all things, who maintains the universe, won’t forget his people or his promise. God who created, stretched, spread, and gives is an active God, and his creation is dependent upon him. He gives breath and life to humankind, and holds the universe in place. All things owe their very being to Him; even the soil has no life except what he provides. Life itself is God’s gift.
And this Creator, the Lord God, cares and provides for the life he gives, and one of the ways he does this is by calling forth his Servant. The Servant is called in righteousness. And with this call comes God’s very presence, he accompanies the Servant, holding his hand, and he will keep him safe. The Servant will be a covenant to the people, reflecting God’s promises. The Servant will be the means by which people come into a covenant relationship with God. While the covenant was first with Noah and Abraham and then Israel, God’s intention is for all the world to be his covenant people, people of the promise, and the Servant will bring the world and its people to God. This Servant will be a light to the nations, the light of truth, the healing of blind eyes, the release from captivity, the transformation from darkness to light, creating a perfect people in a perfect world.
And God promises to bring this about because of his Name, his reputation. He alone is God, he alone possesses his Glory, he alone is worthy of praise. According to his promise, the former things have come to pass, and behold, God is doing a new thing. God declares that he is going to do something new through the ministry of the Servant.
Who is this Servant? Clearly he is a messianic figure, and of course we recognize him to be Jesus, the ultimate obedient servant of God. He is the one to bring Justice, to restore right order on the earth, and God’s spirit is on him as we heard in our Gospel. His accomplishments are not through dominance or oppression. And His coming is not just for the nation of Israel, but for the world. This Servant gives both sight and freedom and His ministry reveals the glory of God.
Again, the ministry of the Servant is above all to restore God’s right order in the world, bringing justice to the world. The cross of Christ is about much more than forgiveness of sins. “It is about dealing with the effects of sin in the world and about restoring God’s work in all levels of society.”[1] And of course the church as the body of Christ, the ministry of Christ in the world, has done that. Over the ages the church and its people have been responsible for establishing hospitals and schools throughout the world as part of restoring God’s order in the world. The church hasn’t been perfect, but it has done much good throughout the ages.
My question to you is what are you doing to bring justice to the world, to restore God’s order? What is St. Mark’s Episcopal Church doing to bring justice to the world? What is the purpose of the church? Is it to evangelize, to bring in new members? Or Is it all about love and fellowship? Sure, those are part of it, but I think the real purpose of the church is to be a servant of our community, to minister to those in need, and to bring justice to the ends of the earth, starting right here in West Frankfort. It’s been said that the church is the only organization that exists solely for the benefit of non-members.
In the Bible, and in our community, justice is about the widows, the fatherless, and the orphans. It’s about the poor, the hungry, and the needy. It’s about the stranger, the weak, and the oppressed. For some of us it may involve political activism, working to structure the laws of our society so that widows and orphans and fatherless and poor and needy and hungry and strangers and the weak and the oppressed are protected.
It’s about making sure that the handicapped are protected. It’s about changing the laws whereby a woman with children loses her welfare benefits if she works at McDonalds, after she’s been laid off from a good job and now she can’t make ends meet, let alone get ahead.
It’s about hungry children. I talked to a woman, a case worker the other day, and she told me about visiting a family who was really struggling. This family had received a food basket earlier in the day, but the case worker was there when the kids came home from school. And she told me how the youngest boy’s eyes lit up to discover a can of chicken noodle soup, how he was so excited, jumping up and down, exclaiming “That’s my favorite!” A can of chicken noodle soup—imagine that!
So what are you doing to bring justice to the world? What is St. Mark’s Episcopal Church doing to bring justice to the world? Amen.
[1] Oswalt, John N., The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah. Zondervan, p. 474.
Friday, February 20, 2009
2 Christmas (B)
How is your prayer life? Do you pray regularly and systematically? Do you have a plan for prayer? Do you keep a prayer list? Do you pray daily? Before meals? Do you pray as often or as well as you would like to? I know I struggle from time to time. There is a great need for effective prayer, and this morning we’ll look at Paul’s example from our epistle reading.
First, some statistics:
In a 2005 survey of over 1300 Christian evangelical leaders, the number one issue facing churches today is the need for prayer, both individual and corporate.[1] And yet, a 2005 Barna survey of 614 senior pastors ranked prayer as the lowest priority for their church in the year ahead, from a dozen possibilities.[2] There’s kind of a schizophrenic relationship with prayer in today’s churches and especially among church leadership. Active ministries: doing evangelism and discipleship, doing anything, is easier than prayer. In this crisis of prayer, which may be one of the most pressing needs in the church today, we tend to read about prayer, and talk about prayer, and not do a lot of praying. I think we can learn about prayer by examining and imitating some of the prayers in the Bible.
The great contemporary evangelist and author Michael Green agrees that prayer is a challenge, but holds the apostle Paul up as an example. He wrote, “The trouble with activists is that they tend to do rather than to pray. I know that is shamefully true of me. But in the apostle Paul I find a man who is not only astonishingly active, serving his Lord all over the Mediterranean basin, but who is also a contemplative and a real model of intercessory prayer.”[3] I think that the priority given to prayer in our lives is an accurate gauge of our spiritual lives, and hence we too may learn from Paul’s model.
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is noted for its Trinitarian theology, its depth and its breadth. It also contains two majestic prayers--or prayer reports--of the apostle, and several other references to prayer. It would do well for us to emulate Paul’s examples and heed his instructions.
The first prayer in Ephesians is in the first chapter, and today’s epistle covers parts of this. In our reading, Paul starts by blessing God, God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He blesses God—for blessing us with spiritual blessings. Do you hear a theme? He is blessing God for blessing us with spiritual blessings—blessings that will be mentioned in the next few verses. Blessed is God for choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He chose you and me to be part of his family, to be in Christ, before the world began, and we are created to be holy and blameless before him. And because we are in Christ, God sees us as holy and blameless. By God’s grace, and by Christ’s sacrifice, God sees us as holy and blameless. Our lives are transformed and we are set apart to be his holy people. We are transformed, and become more and more like Christ, more and more holy, more and more blameless and less sinful. That alone is worth blessing God! But there’s more!
He destined us for adoption as his children, according to his good pleasure. He chose us to be his children, his sons and daughters, in Christ, because it is pleasurable for him. We are chosen and destined in and through Christ, as a result of God’s glorious grace, freely given. Amazing grace, not earned or deserved but freely given, we are God’s adopted children. Blessed be God!!
Our reading skips some verses, up to Paul’s prayer report. Paul writes that he has heard about the reader’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and their love for all the saints (1:15) and that he has continually given thanks for them and remembered them in his prayers (16). This brief and very general thanksgiving report suggests that “Paul may not have even known the recipients but he has heard of their faith and life. On that basis he has a rapport with them and intercedes for them.”[4] His prayer is addressed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory (17). God’s glory is both his presence and the revelation of the himself as the One who has made himself known in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Paul’s designation for God is consistent with the substance of the prayer that follows.
Paul’s prayer is that this glorious revelatory God would give to the readers “a spirit [the Spirit—of truth, the mediator and teacher] of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (1:17). Wisdom comes from God alone, and has to do with his revelation, his purposes as revealed in Christ. While the readers may have knowledge of God’s saving purposes, they “needed to grasp its full significance, not the least of all their own place in it.”[5] In asking for them to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, Paul is praying for illumination, for “spiritual insight so as to grasp the truth of God’s purposes.”[6]
The goal of this wisdom, revelation and enlightenment is a threefold knowledge. The first part is knowledge of the hope to which they have been called. “Paul prays they will know the significance of God’s choosing them. . . . The focus here is not on the fact of God’s choosing, but on the outcome, the consummation of God’s plan in eternity.”[7] The second prayer focus is that they may know “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (1:18). They are God’s inheritance, those which are set apart for God’s possession and enjoyment, his pleasure. In essence, Paul is praying “that the readers might appreciate the wonder, the glory of what God has done in entering into possession of his people, the Church from Jews and Gentiles, and the immense privilege it is to be among these saints”[8] The third goal is knowledge of “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (19) which is his marvelous life-giving and life-saving power. In the verse that immediately follows our epistle reading, Paul says that this is the same great power and might, “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (v.20). Paul’s prayer is that the readers may know that this same power, the power which raised Christ from the dead, is available to them; that God’s power is active in their lives.
What can we learn about prayer from this example? First of all, we should not separate worship, thanksgiving and prayer: they belong together. Chapter 1 of Ephesians contains praise of God in vs. 3-14 as well as thanksgiving and prayer for his people in the rest of the chapter. And then, Paul uses such great words and images for God, that leads me to think that we need to expand how we address God; we need a bigger idea of God. In this case, Paul praised “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us!” And later he prayed, to “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” How often to we pray simply to “God” or “the Lord” or “Father.” I think I usually use “Heavenly Father.” That’s certainly not very expansive or expressive. We need to expand our perception and vocabulary towards God, and we can imitate Paul in this!
Next, in our discussion we heard that Paul was attentive to reports of faith.
In the same way that we give thanks to God when we recognize his quiet and effective work in our lives, so also we thank God when we hear of his work in others. . . . We will be attentive to reports of the progress of the gospel . . . and immediately turn to the God whose grace has sovereignly intervened in their lives with such happy result and offer him praise and thanksgiving.[9]
We can join with the angels in celebration!
Subsequently, we can pray that those around us will increase in wisdom and learn to know God better. What better prayer is there? Praying scripture is always in order. Pray for our family and friends. Even more, pray for our enemies. God in Christ Jesus is sovereign, and he will answer prayer. We can pray for spiritual insights in order that we and our companions may truly comprehend God’s work in us and in the world. The same mighty power that God used in raising Jesus from the dead is available to us. In the same way that our idea of God is too small, so are our prayers. When we focus on his greatness and glory, it is great incentive to pray.
[1] Deaton, Todd. “Prayer: No. 1 Issue in Churches, Survey of Leaders Shows.” 7 March 2006. Www.BaptistCourier.Com. 12 February 2008..
[2] “Church Priorities for 2005 Vary Considerably.” 14 February 2005. The Barna Update.. 12 February 2008..
[3] Green, Michael & Elspeth Taylor. A Prayer Journey with the Apostle Paul: Sixty Devotions. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 7.
[4] Snodgrass, Klyne. The NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 72.
[5] O’Brien, Peter. The Letter to the Ephesians. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999) 132.
[6] O’Brien, 133.
[7] Snodgrass, 74.
[8] Lincoln, Andrew. Word Biblical Commentary: Ephesians. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990) 60.
[9] Carson, 171.
First, some statistics:
In a 2005 survey of over 1300 Christian evangelical leaders, the number one issue facing churches today is the need for prayer, both individual and corporate.[1] And yet, a 2005 Barna survey of 614 senior pastors ranked prayer as the lowest priority for their church in the year ahead, from a dozen possibilities.[2] There’s kind of a schizophrenic relationship with prayer in today’s churches and especially among church leadership. Active ministries: doing evangelism and discipleship, doing anything, is easier than prayer. In this crisis of prayer, which may be one of the most pressing needs in the church today, we tend to read about prayer, and talk about prayer, and not do a lot of praying. I think we can learn about prayer by examining and imitating some of the prayers in the Bible.
The great contemporary evangelist and author Michael Green agrees that prayer is a challenge, but holds the apostle Paul up as an example. He wrote, “The trouble with activists is that they tend to do rather than to pray. I know that is shamefully true of me. But in the apostle Paul I find a man who is not only astonishingly active, serving his Lord all over the Mediterranean basin, but who is also a contemplative and a real model of intercessory prayer.”[3] I think that the priority given to prayer in our lives is an accurate gauge of our spiritual lives, and hence we too may learn from Paul’s model.
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians is noted for its Trinitarian theology, its depth and its breadth. It also contains two majestic prayers--or prayer reports--of the apostle, and several other references to prayer. It would do well for us to emulate Paul’s examples and heed his instructions.
The first prayer in Ephesians is in the first chapter, and today’s epistle covers parts of this. In our reading, Paul starts by blessing God, God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He blesses God—for blessing us with spiritual blessings. Do you hear a theme? He is blessing God for blessing us with spiritual blessings—blessings that will be mentioned in the next few verses. Blessed is God for choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He chose you and me to be part of his family, to be in Christ, before the world began, and we are created to be holy and blameless before him. And because we are in Christ, God sees us as holy and blameless. By God’s grace, and by Christ’s sacrifice, God sees us as holy and blameless. Our lives are transformed and we are set apart to be his holy people. We are transformed, and become more and more like Christ, more and more holy, more and more blameless and less sinful. That alone is worth blessing God! But there’s more!
He destined us for adoption as his children, according to his good pleasure. He chose us to be his children, his sons and daughters, in Christ, because it is pleasurable for him. We are chosen and destined in and through Christ, as a result of God’s glorious grace, freely given. Amazing grace, not earned or deserved but freely given, we are God’s adopted children. Blessed be God!!
Our reading skips some verses, up to Paul’s prayer report. Paul writes that he has heard about the reader’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and their love for all the saints (1:15) and that he has continually given thanks for them and remembered them in his prayers (16). This brief and very general thanksgiving report suggests that “Paul may not have even known the recipients but he has heard of their faith and life. On that basis he has a rapport with them and intercedes for them.”[4] His prayer is addressed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory (17). God’s glory is both his presence and the revelation of the himself as the One who has made himself known in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Paul’s designation for God is consistent with the substance of the prayer that follows.
Paul’s prayer is that this glorious revelatory God would give to the readers “a spirit [the Spirit—of truth, the mediator and teacher] of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (1:17). Wisdom comes from God alone, and has to do with his revelation, his purposes as revealed in Christ. While the readers may have knowledge of God’s saving purposes, they “needed to grasp its full significance, not the least of all their own place in it.”[5] In asking for them to have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, Paul is praying for illumination, for “spiritual insight so as to grasp the truth of God’s purposes.”[6]
The goal of this wisdom, revelation and enlightenment is a threefold knowledge. The first part is knowledge of the hope to which they have been called. “Paul prays they will know the significance of God’s choosing them. . . . The focus here is not on the fact of God’s choosing, but on the outcome, the consummation of God’s plan in eternity.”[7] The second prayer focus is that they may know “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (1:18). They are God’s inheritance, those which are set apart for God’s possession and enjoyment, his pleasure. In essence, Paul is praying “that the readers might appreciate the wonder, the glory of what God has done in entering into possession of his people, the Church from Jews and Gentiles, and the immense privilege it is to be among these saints”[8] The third goal is knowledge of “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (19) which is his marvelous life-giving and life-saving power. In the verse that immediately follows our epistle reading, Paul says that this is the same great power and might, “that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (v.20). Paul’s prayer is that the readers may know that this same power, the power which raised Christ from the dead, is available to them; that God’s power is active in their lives.
What can we learn about prayer from this example? First of all, we should not separate worship, thanksgiving and prayer: they belong together. Chapter 1 of Ephesians contains praise of God in vs. 3-14 as well as thanksgiving and prayer for his people in the rest of the chapter. And then, Paul uses such great words and images for God, that leads me to think that we need to expand how we address God; we need a bigger idea of God. In this case, Paul praised “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us!” And later he prayed, to “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” How often to we pray simply to “God” or “the Lord” or “Father.” I think I usually use “Heavenly Father.” That’s certainly not very expansive or expressive. We need to expand our perception and vocabulary towards God, and we can imitate Paul in this!
Next, in our discussion we heard that Paul was attentive to reports of faith.
In the same way that we give thanks to God when we recognize his quiet and effective work in our lives, so also we thank God when we hear of his work in others. . . . We will be attentive to reports of the progress of the gospel . . . and immediately turn to the God whose grace has sovereignly intervened in their lives with such happy result and offer him praise and thanksgiving.[9]
We can join with the angels in celebration!
Subsequently, we can pray that those around us will increase in wisdom and learn to know God better. What better prayer is there? Praying scripture is always in order. Pray for our family and friends. Even more, pray for our enemies. God in Christ Jesus is sovereign, and he will answer prayer. We can pray for spiritual insights in order that we and our companions may truly comprehend God’s work in us and in the world. The same mighty power that God used in raising Jesus from the dead is available to us. In the same way that our idea of God is too small, so are our prayers. When we focus on his greatness and glory, it is great incentive to pray.
[1] Deaton, Todd. “Prayer: No. 1 Issue in Churches, Survey of Leaders Shows.” 7 March 2006. Www.BaptistCourier.Com. 12 February 2008.
[2] “Church Priorities for 2005 Vary Considerably.” 14 February 2005. The Barna Update.. 12 February 2008.
[3] Green, Michael & Elspeth Taylor. A Prayer Journey with the Apostle Paul: Sixty Devotions. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 7.
[4] Snodgrass, Klyne. The NIV Application Commentary: Ephesians. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 72.
[5] O’Brien, Peter. The Letter to the Ephesians. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999) 132.
[6] O’Brien, 133.
[7] Snodgrass, 74.
[8] Lincoln, Andrew. Word Biblical Commentary: Ephesians. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990) 60.
[9] Carson, 171.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
1st Sunday after Christmas
Sermon given at St. Stephen's.
Today’s gospel reading, John 1:1-18, is often identified as the prologue of John’s gospel—it could also be described as John’s Christmas story. It’s a bit different than the Christmas story we are familiar with and that we heard last week. There is no manger, no angels, no shepherds. We don’t hear about Mary and Joseph or a baby. Instead we are looking behind, above, and beyond the manger scene. We move to eternity, to creation, to redemption, soaring above the angels and shepherds. John’s prologue is unique and awe-inspiring.
When we look at the four gospels side by side, it is clear that one of these things is not like the others!! Matthew, Mark and Luke all share a narrative style, more like a reporter’s eyewitness report. Many people love the brevity of these works, and especially the terseness of Mark. But at least as many people also are attracted to the majesty and depth of John. And the Gospel of John is my favorite, and of course I appreciate any opportunity to preach on it!!
It is impossible to adequately address this passage in a short sermon, so I will focus on just a few of the significant themes: The Word, who gives power to all who believe in him to become children of God, the Word made flesh, and the uniqueness of this Word.
The first three words are: “In the beginning”—the same words that open the book of Genesis. Genesis reads: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In today’s text we read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
This Word, who was with God before creation, was the logos, the creative force of God. To speak of the Word in relation to the beginning of creation would make sense to both Jews and Greeks. In some schools of Greek thought, the universe is kosmos, an ordered place, and what lies behind the universe and orders it is reason or logos. . For the Jews, creation took place through God’s speech. In Gen 1:3, God said let there be light and there was light. God’s speech, his word, caused creation to come into being. And God’s speech, his Word, is Christ. All things came into being with him, and without him not one thing came into being. There were no exceptions; the existence of absolutely all things came by this Word.
In vs. 11-13 we read “11 He came to what was his own,1 and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. Those who believe in his name have the power to become Children of God.” This power is something that we must exercise. But this power comes from God. Those who are receptive to the Son are offered the gift of becoming children of God themselves. Everything depends on our response to him. Then as children of God we begin to share his divine life. We reflect God’s character. Most importantly, believing is not just an intellectual assent to some ideas but a relationship of discipleship to Jesus in which we trust and obey his revelation and receive his ongoing presence through the Holy Spirit.
In the next verse comes the break with all non-Christian thought. The Word became flesh!! The Word, the agent of creation, has now become a creature! He who brought the universe into existence is now born within the universe as a human being. This idea is so familiar to us that we don’t get it. The Word became Flesh! God became Man. It is beyond our ability to comprehend. The Word became flesh! Philippians ch. 2 tells us that The Word, “Jesus Christ though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” The Word who was with God and was God became human flesh, born as a baby, and dwelt among us! Imagine that!
In our world today, we hear many voices, many words. But when we hear that the Word became Flesh, we understand that God is intent on communicating about himself. The Word, is accessible. The Word lived in the world and was touched and heard by many. The Word became flesh tells us that Jesus was God himself, taking on the clothing of humanity. Something definitive, objective and absolute has happened in time and in history. It must be made clear that Jesus is not one savior among the world’s many saviors, nor is he one good man among many men. Jesus is God in flesh. The Nicene Creed tells us that Jesus and the Father share the same essence; and there was never a time when the Son did not exist.
God is the architect of creation and of history who delights in revealing himself. He enters our reality through word and miracle, showing his glory and power. Christ is God at work, disclosing himself to his creation. Christ is God reaching into the realm of men and women; he takes their form in order to give exhaustive and certain revelation of who he his. Jesus is God’s intervention in the world. He is greater than Moses and came before Abraham. His history goes back to the beginning of time and beyond.
Jesus makes God accessible. The last verse of today’s text says “8 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,1 who is close to the Father's heart,2 who has made him known.” In chapter 14:8, Jesus claims that “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” If you want to know God, look at his Son. The son is the same as the Father, the same substance, the same nature. The incarnation has brought a new way to comprehend God. We can only know the Holy God of the Universe through Christ, God made flesh, born in humility in a filthy stable, walking in poverty, teaching the un-teachable, dying a horrible criminal’s death and then rising from the dead and again walking among his disciples. Through the approachable and knowable humanity of Jesus, the Word made flesh, we come to know God. And any attempt to know God that is not centered in Jesus is defective. No one has seen God, but now the one who was with the Father reveals the glory of God that he shared with him before the world began. Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is not one path among many, but the only true and real way by which we know God. In chapter 14 Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know1 my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Jesus shows us the Father, and if we believe in his name we are given the power to become children of God—God’s very sons and daughters. In Romans, Paul says we have received the spirit of adoption that we may cry Abba, Father. God is our Daddy, and we are his children, his sons and daughters. What a great thing!!
In today’s world, there isn’t much that feels secure, and too often we feel rejected and alone. We feel uneasy and uncertain. And while we know that no human relationship can truly provide security, God can. In the midst of this troubled and troubling world, we are privileged to have the most secure relationship that there is—we are adopted into God’s very own family. Through faith in Christ, through believing in his name, we become his brothers and sisters, children of God, and co-heirs with Christ. We belong!! This is the ultimate family! Our adoption is for real and for sure and for always! We have the power and privileges as God’s children—what an amazing and wonderful thing! When we comprehend this truth, our hearts will overflow with joy.
The cosmic Christ, the Word who was in the beginning, has revealed to us the way to be with God our Father, our Abba, and this Daddy will never ever let us down, and we will be his beloved children forever and for always.
Today’s gospel reading, John 1:1-18, is often identified as the prologue of John’s gospel—it could also be described as John’s Christmas story. It’s a bit different than the Christmas story we are familiar with and that we heard last week. There is no manger, no angels, no shepherds. We don’t hear about Mary and Joseph or a baby. Instead we are looking behind, above, and beyond the manger scene. We move to eternity, to creation, to redemption, soaring above the angels and shepherds. John’s prologue is unique and awe-inspiring.
When we look at the four gospels side by side, it is clear that one of these things is not like the others!! Matthew, Mark and Luke all share a narrative style, more like a reporter’s eyewitness report. Many people love the brevity of these works, and especially the terseness of Mark. But at least as many people also are attracted to the majesty and depth of John. And the Gospel of John is my favorite, and of course I appreciate any opportunity to preach on it!!
It is impossible to adequately address this passage in a short sermon, so I will focus on just a few of the significant themes: The Word, who gives power to all who believe in him to become children of God, the Word made flesh, and the uniqueness of this Word.
The first three words are: “In the beginning”—the same words that open the book of Genesis. Genesis reads: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In today’s text we read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
This Word, who was with God before creation, was the logos, the creative force of God. To speak of the Word in relation to the beginning of creation would make sense to both Jews and Greeks. In some schools of Greek thought, the universe is kosmos, an ordered place, and what lies behind the universe and orders it is reason or logos. . For the Jews, creation took place through God’s speech. In Gen 1:3, God said let there be light and there was light. God’s speech, his word, caused creation to come into being. And God’s speech, his Word, is Christ. All things came into being with him, and without him not one thing came into being. There were no exceptions; the existence of absolutely all things came by this Word.
In vs. 11-13 we read “11 He came to what was his own,1 and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. Those who believe in his name have the power to become Children of God.” This power is something that we must exercise. But this power comes from God. Those who are receptive to the Son are offered the gift of becoming children of God themselves. Everything depends on our response to him. Then as children of God we begin to share his divine life. We reflect God’s character. Most importantly, believing is not just an intellectual assent to some ideas but a relationship of discipleship to Jesus in which we trust and obey his revelation and receive his ongoing presence through the Holy Spirit.
In the next verse comes the break with all non-Christian thought. The Word became flesh!! The Word, the agent of creation, has now become a creature! He who brought the universe into existence is now born within the universe as a human being. This idea is so familiar to us that we don’t get it. The Word became Flesh! God became Man. It is beyond our ability to comprehend. The Word became flesh! Philippians ch. 2 tells us that The Word, “Jesus Christ though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” The Word who was with God and was God became human flesh, born as a baby, and dwelt among us! Imagine that!
In our world today, we hear many voices, many words. But when we hear that the Word became Flesh, we understand that God is intent on communicating about himself. The Word, is accessible. The Word lived in the world and was touched and heard by many. The Word became flesh tells us that Jesus was God himself, taking on the clothing of humanity. Something definitive, objective and absolute has happened in time and in history. It must be made clear that Jesus is not one savior among the world’s many saviors, nor is he one good man among many men. Jesus is God in flesh. The Nicene Creed tells us that Jesus and the Father share the same essence; and there was never a time when the Son did not exist.
God is the architect of creation and of history who delights in revealing himself. He enters our reality through word and miracle, showing his glory and power. Christ is God at work, disclosing himself to his creation. Christ is God reaching into the realm of men and women; he takes their form in order to give exhaustive and certain revelation of who he his. Jesus is God’s intervention in the world. He is greater than Moses and came before Abraham. His history goes back to the beginning of time and beyond.
Jesus makes God accessible. The last verse of today’s text says “8 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son,1 who is close to the Father's heart,2 who has made him known.” In chapter 14:8, Jesus claims that “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” If you want to know God, look at his Son. The son is the same as the Father, the same substance, the same nature. The incarnation has brought a new way to comprehend God. We can only know the Holy God of the Universe through Christ, God made flesh, born in humility in a filthy stable, walking in poverty, teaching the un-teachable, dying a horrible criminal’s death and then rising from the dead and again walking among his disciples. Through the approachable and knowable humanity of Jesus, the Word made flesh, we come to know God. And any attempt to know God that is not centered in Jesus is defective. No one has seen God, but now the one who was with the Father reveals the glory of God that he shared with him before the world began. Jesus is the only way to the Father. He is not one path among many, but the only true and real way by which we know God. In chapter 14 Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will know1 my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Jesus shows us the Father, and if we believe in his name we are given the power to become children of God—God’s very sons and daughters. In Romans, Paul says we have received the spirit of adoption that we may cry Abba, Father. God is our Daddy, and we are his children, his sons and daughters. What a great thing!!
In today’s world, there isn’t much that feels secure, and too often we feel rejected and alone. We feel uneasy and uncertain. And while we know that no human relationship can truly provide security, God can. In the midst of this troubled and troubling world, we are privileged to have the most secure relationship that there is—we are adopted into God’s very own family. Through faith in Christ, through believing in his name, we become his brothers and sisters, children of God, and co-heirs with Christ. We belong!! This is the ultimate family! Our adoption is for real and for sure and for always! We have the power and privileges as God’s children—what an amazing and wonderful thing! When we comprehend this truth, our hearts will overflow with joy.
The cosmic Christ, the Word who was in the beginning, has revealed to us the way to be with God our Father, our Abba, and this Daddy will never ever let us down, and we will be his beloved children forever and for always.
Christmas 2008
One of the top grossing movies of the last two weeks is The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves as a humanoid alien visiting earth. He claims to be a friend of the earth, but is he really friend or foe? Is mankind worth saving?
If you haven’t seen this movie, chances are you’ve seen or read something like it. What about the Star Wars franchise, or 2001 A Space Odyssey. How about the Men in Black movies, Independence Day, or the beloved ET. Or on television: The X-Files or 3rd Rock from the Sun TV series. I could go on and on; It’s rare that a year goes by without a science fiction movie coming out. And who hasn’t heard about Orson Wells’ radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds—it was so realistic that those who hadn’t heard the disclaimer believed they were really under attack by Martians!
Mankind has long been fascinated by the possibility of life beyond earth. Science fiction literature and films serve not only to entertain, but to address our questions, hopes and fears. . . [1]
The hopes and fears of all the years . . . are found in science fiction. Our hopes and fears are found in the stories we tell, in the books we read, in the movies we watch. And sometimes through stories of aliens and UFOs our hearts cry out.
In these types of stories there are two basic themes. The first is that the aliens are hostile, sophisticated, and set on destroying the earth through force and deception—and sometimes they find willing humans who commit treason in order to assist the evil aliens, hoping that they will be saved, that they will cut a deal with the invaders. Or sometimes humans are taken over—they’ve been taken over from the inside and are enemy agents. Did you see any of the Alien movies, where humans are cocoons for the development of horrible alien creatures? And in these most frightening movies there’s a hero, someone who has learned the truth of impending destruction, and the people won’t take them seriously.
Then there’s another theme, a more optimistic story. Aliens are still sophisticated and powerful beings, superior both morally and spiritually. They are masters of technology who have visited us before, to help us and to guide us, to intervene in human history—and they are back to reveal themselves and save us—from ourselves, whether it’s ecological disaster or global warfare and destruction. Sometimes these superior aliens will mate with humans to create a superior race, which will change the course of history and give us hope.
Perhaps these stories are so popular because they speak to our hearts. We know in our innermost hearts that there is a dark and sinister force in the world, one that we don’t understand and usually underestimate. When will we pay attention to the real evil in the world, the real damage being done? It’s not hard to believe that our world is threatened by forces beyond our control, whether global warming or global warfare, and the only answer is some kind of dramatic action. We know, too, that science, technology, and commerce will not solve our problems. We need help. Remember Princess Lea in Star Wars: “Help us, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”
The hopeful story lends us to consider that there is a positive force in the universe, more powerful than human beings, a force for good, a force which can help and guide us, a force which can save us from destruction, save us from ourselves. We know we need new blood, new hearts, new lives. We need rescued on a moral and spiritual level—we need to be transformed and renewed and redeemed. If there is a benevolent force, a superior race, if this is true, then there is hope.
And so to a world that presents it’s hopes and fears in medium of alien invasion and alien salvation comes the good news of Jesus Christ.
Because of course, we were right. There is a sinister force at work in the world and in us, consuming us from the inside out, a force which must be recognized and named. And that is the role of the prophets.
And of course we were right. There is a benevolent and superior force guiding history, a force which wants to be known, to be revealed. This force wants to have intimate communion with the human race and bring forth a new race, with renewed and transformed powers, so that we can be saved. There is a force that says without a doubt, mankind is worth saving.
And so God, the benevolent and superior force at work in the world, God who is far bigger and better than the human race which threatens to destroy itself, chose to reveal himself. He took on the form and shape and even the limitations of a human. The king of the universe shed his powers and clothed himself with humanity. The one through him all things were made, made himself like us. While his conception was something akin to planting an alien and superior seed in a human mother, his birth was of the ordinary human kind, born in the far corners of the world, born in the most humble of places. And because he was an alien, because he was not completely of this world, he helped us by being born and living and dying like one of us. And because he was not entirely one of us, by his death, he conquered death and gave us life, gave us his life-giving Spirit. The Spirit of the one who is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, this Spirit touches and transforms our hearts, from the inside. We are joined with him, and a new race is formed, a new humanity, made new, re-created, from the inside out.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
We know, don’t we, that we need help, and that all the best of human science and technology aren’t getting it done. The threats are real enough, but what we need is a Savior—and unto us a child is born, a Savior, Christ the Lord. He will be named Jesus—Yeshua—which means God is salvation. We need salvation, and in the birth and life and death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we are saved. All we have to do is believe in him—to trust that He is who he says he is, and to surrender our lives to him who is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in a stable in Bethlehem. They are met in Jesus. And in our Christmas celebration of Holy Communion, we share in his life. He lives in us and we in him, and we are a new race with new hearts—beings who are transformed from the inside out, a now alien people who are fit to live forever with Him, for all eternity, above and beyond the stars.
Special acknowledgments to the Rev Dr. Leander Harding.
[1] http://www.allmovieportal.com/m/2008_The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_about_the_movie.html
If you haven’t seen this movie, chances are you’ve seen or read something like it. What about the Star Wars franchise, or 2001 A Space Odyssey. How about the Men in Black movies, Independence Day, or the beloved ET. Or on television: The X-Files or 3rd Rock from the Sun TV series. I could go on and on; It’s rare that a year goes by without a science fiction movie coming out. And who hasn’t heard about Orson Wells’ radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds—it was so realistic that those who hadn’t heard the disclaimer believed they were really under attack by Martians!
Mankind has long been fascinated by the possibility of life beyond earth. Science fiction literature and films serve not only to entertain, but to address our questions, hopes and fears. . . [1]
The hopes and fears of all the years . . . are found in science fiction. Our hopes and fears are found in the stories we tell, in the books we read, in the movies we watch. And sometimes through stories of aliens and UFOs our hearts cry out.
In these types of stories there are two basic themes. The first is that the aliens are hostile, sophisticated, and set on destroying the earth through force and deception—and sometimes they find willing humans who commit treason in order to assist the evil aliens, hoping that they will be saved, that they will cut a deal with the invaders. Or sometimes humans are taken over—they’ve been taken over from the inside and are enemy agents. Did you see any of the Alien movies, where humans are cocoons for the development of horrible alien creatures? And in these most frightening movies there’s a hero, someone who has learned the truth of impending destruction, and the people won’t take them seriously.
Then there’s another theme, a more optimistic story. Aliens are still sophisticated and powerful beings, superior both morally and spiritually. They are masters of technology who have visited us before, to help us and to guide us, to intervene in human history—and they are back to reveal themselves and save us—from ourselves, whether it’s ecological disaster or global warfare and destruction. Sometimes these superior aliens will mate with humans to create a superior race, which will change the course of history and give us hope.
Perhaps these stories are so popular because they speak to our hearts. We know in our innermost hearts that there is a dark and sinister force in the world, one that we don’t understand and usually underestimate. When will we pay attention to the real evil in the world, the real damage being done? It’s not hard to believe that our world is threatened by forces beyond our control, whether global warming or global warfare, and the only answer is some kind of dramatic action. We know, too, that science, technology, and commerce will not solve our problems. We need help. Remember Princess Lea in Star Wars: “Help us, Obi Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”
The hopeful story lends us to consider that there is a positive force in the universe, more powerful than human beings, a force for good, a force which can help and guide us, a force which can save us from destruction, save us from ourselves. We know we need new blood, new hearts, new lives. We need rescued on a moral and spiritual level—we need to be transformed and renewed and redeemed. If there is a benevolent force, a superior race, if this is true, then there is hope.
And so to a world that presents it’s hopes and fears in medium of alien invasion and alien salvation comes the good news of Jesus Christ.
Because of course, we were right. There is a sinister force at work in the world and in us, consuming us from the inside out, a force which must be recognized and named. And that is the role of the prophets.
And of course we were right. There is a benevolent and superior force guiding history, a force which wants to be known, to be revealed. This force wants to have intimate communion with the human race and bring forth a new race, with renewed and transformed powers, so that we can be saved. There is a force that says without a doubt, mankind is worth saving.
And so God, the benevolent and superior force at work in the world, God who is far bigger and better than the human race which threatens to destroy itself, chose to reveal himself. He took on the form and shape and even the limitations of a human. The king of the universe shed his powers and clothed himself with humanity. The one through him all things were made, made himself like us. While his conception was something akin to planting an alien and superior seed in a human mother, his birth was of the ordinary human kind, born in the far corners of the world, born in the most humble of places. And because he was an alien, because he was not completely of this world, he helped us by being born and living and dying like one of us. And because he was not entirely one of us, by his death, he conquered death and gave us life, gave us his life-giving Spirit. The Spirit of the one who is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, this Spirit touches and transforms our hearts, from the inside. We are joined with him, and a new race is formed, a new humanity, made new, re-created, from the inside out.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
We know, don’t we, that we need help, and that all the best of human science and technology aren’t getting it done. The threats are real enough, but what we need is a Savior—and unto us a child is born, a Savior, Christ the Lord. He will be named Jesus—Yeshua—which means God is salvation. We need salvation, and in the birth and life and death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we are saved. All we have to do is believe in him—to trust that He is who he says he is, and to surrender our lives to him who is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in a stable in Bethlehem. They are met in Jesus. And in our Christmas celebration of Holy Communion, we share in his life. He lives in us and we in him, and we are a new race with new hearts—beings who are transformed from the inside out, a now alien people who are fit to live forever with Him, for all eternity, above and beyond the stars.
Special acknowledgments to the Rev Dr. Leander Harding.
[1] http://www.allmovieportal.com/m/2008_The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_about_the_movie.html
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