COME ON HOME[
Are you not tired of having just enough religion to make you uncomfortable at a cocktail reception and yet ill at ease in the presence of the Holy?
There is time to come back to simple holy living.
Time to come back to self-control, Christian simplicity, and spiritual discipline energized by God's grace. "Now is the time. We have been through it all-- the grasping, the looking, the searching. We have lived as people who try to serve God and mammon, and we know now that it cannot be done.
Too many Christians have drifted into letting the world tell them how to dress, what to drive, what songs and entertainment with which to saturate the soul, and just how to put me first at the expense of other people whom nobody puts first. Some who take the name of Christ seem owned by their ambitions, chained to a success formula, enslaved by the hunger for prestige-- diseases they have caught from our sinful culture. They fill up the ranks of the Christian jet set.
Visit any important Christian conference and you will see them-- "dressed alike, talking alike, smiling alike, looking over the shoulders of the people to whom they are speaking in order to see who else has come into the room."
The world has taught us to reach for the things that matter least while neglecting the things that matter most. Prayer, Bible study, devotion, and obedience have been elbowed to the margins as Christian self-help propaganda taught believers to dress for success, win through intimidation, fulfill themselves, enjoy sex, and lose weight.
Richard Baxter's 17th-century description fits today's cosmopolite evangelicals like a glove:
When we should study God we study ourselves; when we should mind God, we mind ourselves; when we should love God, we love our carnal selves; when we should trust God, we trust ourselves; when we should honour God, we honour ourselves; and when we should ascribe to God and admire Him, we ascribe to and admire ourselves: and instead of God we would have all men's eyes and dependence on us, and all men's thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the only men on earth extolled and admired by all. And thus naturally we are our own idols.
Even spirituality has become something to be utilized. We were coached to practice the spiritual disciplines in order to achieve self-fulfillment, discover happiness, become fully human, and overcome stress. Such behavior is a lilac-scented blasphemy. The only reason to practice the spiritual disciplines is because of who God is. Not even Hollywood has "out-glitzed" evangelical religion. Popular Christianity has been polled, charted, televised, and made "user friendly" by the best ad crews in the world. But now we know that making Christianity compatible with the loose living and undisciplined conduct of our culture does not work. The popular church "has lower standards for membership than those for getting on a bus."
But we have learned a few lessons, haven't we? "Now we can see . . . where uncontrolled living goes. We know the misery. We have felt it.
“ It is time to come home. Time to stop trying to be citizens of two countries. It is time to stop trying to blend God's way with our own wants and lusts. Come home to Christian simplicity, discipline, and holiness of heart and life. The journey is not easy. The worldly culture will try to sweep you back into its whirlwind of shallow gratifications, its conscience- deadening maze of greeds and lusts, its "cosmetic diversions and plastic pleasures."
Resist them in the power of the Spirit. They are vapors of fantasy that lead only to emptiness. On the other hand, the holy life to which God is calling you is "astonishing in its completeness," as Thomas Kelley writes.
Of the holy life, he says,
Its joys are ravishing,
its peace profound,
its humility the deepest,
its power world-shaking,
its love enveloping,
its simplicity that of a trusting child
... It is the life and power of Jesus of Nazareth.
(1) We need to deliberately break the insulation that separates us from entering into God's Presence, the "Shekinah." God's Presence is life-giving. We must enter into the Presence and worship, wherever we are coming from.
(2) We need to break the bondage of self-consciousness before the judgment of other human beings. "If I buy into this radical response I will be stepping back into the '30s-- I will be an ignorant sheep---
" NOT if it is truly GOD who is calling you to come HOME
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Dealing with Existential Fear
Faith in the Presence of Fear
John 20:19-31
Psalm 16
Words for Our Day
The opening words of Psalm 16 are the cry, "Protect me, O Lord God,
for I am trusting in you!" The Psalmist, David, is using what seems
to me the language of fear. He probably had good reason to fear, for
his life was often in danger.
Do you ever feel fear? Is it a sin to feel negative emotions? Is it
evil to have questions or even doubts when it seems everyone else is
so certain about so many things?
In the very last chapter of the last book in the Bible (Revelation 21)
is a list that sometimes bothers me. It is a list of people who are
not going to enter the New Jerusalem. In fact John, the writer of
Revelation, says they will have part in "the second death."
Now part of that list I can understand would not fit in heaven: "the
abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, and all liars" is how
the list ends. But the part that bothers me is how the list begins.
The list of those who miss heaven begins: "But the fearful and the
unbelieving... will have their place in the lake of fire." What does
this mean? Sometimes I feel like the Cowardly Lion, and I admit there
are a lot of questions I cannot honestly answer.
Can the feeling of FEAR keep me out of heaven? [Before I go any
farther, let me say I believe the answer is NO FEELING will keep
you or me out of heaven. Feelings are emotions-- feelings are
results, not causes-- and God is not seeking reasons to exclude,
but to INCLUDE. He is not willing that ANY should perish.
In the Gospel Thomas is afraid to believe and Jesus comes to him--
in the Psalm David is afraid, and he cries out "O God help me!"]
No the feeling will not exclude you.
Still, there IS a fear that can keep us from taking hold of the
gift of LIFE. And there is an unbelief that is not of the mind
but of the heart that says, "I will not submit to God even when
He speaks clearly to me." This passage from John helps us
understand how we can dare trust the Risen Savior.
I. THE DISCIPLES WERE AFRAID TO BELIEVE HOW MUCH GOD LOVED THEM
They lived in a time and place every bit as scary as our own
terror-threatened post-9/11 time. They thought: "It is too good
to be true!" Jesus came and dispelled their fears somewhat--
it took a while.
But Thomas wasn't there. He said, "I have to SEE for myself."
He was afraid to let himself get built up just to be let down
again.
Looking again to Psalm 16, David prays for God's mercy, but
even as he prays he recognizes how audacious it is to talk
to God. He says, "MY GOODNESS EXTENDETH NOT TO THEE." In
another place (Psalm 8) David says, "WHEN I CONSIDER THE HEAVENS,
WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF HIM?"
Many of the theologians of our day (whether post-modern, or
process, or deconstructionist, or whatever-- I'm probably ten
years behind in labels) seem to be saying, "You common people
have no idea of how big God really is-- and so you can never
speak about Him with any kind of certainty!" And some of them
carry it so far they are saying 'GOD'S LOVE, IF IT IS THERE,
IS TOO BIG, TOO MYSTERIOUS FOR US TO KNOW AND BE SURE ABOUT.'
It is almost a blocking FEAR before the mystery of God's love.
BUT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE-- WHO TRULY IS BIGGER THAN WE CAN
IMAGINE-- HAS SPOKEN TO US IN THE LIFE AND DEATH AND RESURRECTION
OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST!
That message is understandable even though we can never understand
WHY God should love us! That message IS: GOD LOVES YOU!
Jesus said: "Thomas, I'll help you believe! Blessed are those
who have NOT seen, and still believe! FAITH WITHIN US SAYS:
Jesus really DOES know and care about ME!
Even after the disciples began to grasp the fact that Jesus
was alive, and that He was with them again, there was a
hesitation to dare to believe what Jesus was asking them to
do (commanding them, actually).
II. THE DISCIPLES COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT GOD EXPECTED OF THEM
Jesus began outlining his assignment for the church that very night.
First, he BREATHED ON THEM, and said: RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Be carriers of God! Be contagious with LOVE! Exude confidence
that God is GOOD!
I'm sure they did not grasp it fully then-- nor even fifty days
later at Pentecost-- but the disciples-- and you and I-- are to
be the place where God lives on this earth. We are God's housing!
Do YOU think of yourself as a tabernacle of God? Is God welcome
in YOUR body? In your relationships? is that a new thought to
you? Is it a bit frightening?
God is what this frightened world needs right now! And who do
you suppose God is wanting to use to meet your neighbors and
mine, face-to-Face?
Jesus began assigning His disciples a role in telling the
world that all their sins had been forgiven on Calvary. This
is mysterious, and not easy to understand:
"Those whose sins you forgive they will be forgiven... those
whose sins you don't forgive they will remain..?"
We can stop and get hung up on the translation of words here--
OR we can understand that WE have a part in sharing the Good News
of Salvation.
FEAR said, that night, "Lord Jesus we have all been afraid!
We have all forsaken you and run away! How can WE ever accept
such an assignment?"
But FAITH SAID: "YOU CAN SHOW ME HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT!
YOU CAN HELP ME SHARE THE MESSAGE OF SINS FORGIVEN!" And that is
exactly what happened.
That is all well and good for the disciples..then..and for the
worship times in church. But what about the everyday fears that
come-- AND WHAT ABOUT THE REALLY DARK PLACES IN LIFE THAT COME
TO US ALL? Can fear defeat us when we face the worst life can
offer? It is frightening to think there are people who hate us
just because we live where we do, and believe what we believe-
but in the darkness is where even little lights can shine brightly!
Jesus loves YOU! He is with you and me! He says "Tell people that
God loves them! God is GOOD!"
III. WE ALL FACE FEAR'S CHALLENGE IN OUR DARK HOURS OF THE SOUL
Faith's victory over fear is NOT just doctrine or theory. We cannot
help at times FEELING overwhelmed-- even pushed toward despair.
In the Garden of Gethsemene Jesus Himself prayed like one who
hated, even dreaded what lay out ahead. He prayed, "O MY FATHER,
IF IT BE POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME!"
In the Psalm (16) David wrote the script for the Messiah's hope
even though it was 800 years or so before the time-- he wrote for
Jesus-- and for all who follow Jesus-- "THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY
SOUL IN HELL, NOR SUFFER YOUR OWN TO SEE CORRUPTION"
Our souls somehow become the battlefield of fear versus faith.
For insight into that aspect of the emotions of fear and temptation
to unbelief there is no better book than The Book of Job. Job
loved God-- and refused to believe God was anything but GOOD!
He certainly did not understand what was going on. But Job said,
"GOD KNOWS! I WILL TRUST HIM!" Faith went beyond what it could see,
and even what it could NOT see-- and reached for the hand of God.
In some of Britain's darkest hours in WW II, the people listened by
their radios on New Year's Eve as their king, King George VI, gave
his annual greeting to his people over BBC. It was truly a fearsome
time. The very existence of their nation was at risk. And the king
that night quoted words that have since become famous. He said:
"I said to the man who stands at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me
light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied,
'Step into the darkness, put your hand into the hand of God, and
that will be to you better than a light and safer than a known
way.'"
David said, "In your Presence is joy! If I can just BE WITH YOU I
will be all right!" We do not have to wait until we die and go to
heaven to know God's Presence. He is near, He is with us today.
If we will let Him he will live within us, and walk with us. We
may not know all about Him, but we may know Him. He loves us,
and his perfect love casts out fear, our own fear, and the fear
that we cannot tell our frightened neighbors with assurance:
"God is GOOD! God loves YOU!."
John 20:19-31
Psalm 16
Words for Our Day
The opening words of Psalm 16 are the cry, "Protect me, O Lord God,
for I am trusting in you!" The Psalmist, David, is using what seems
to me the language of fear. He probably had good reason to fear, for
his life was often in danger.
Do you ever feel fear? Is it a sin to feel negative emotions? Is it
evil to have questions or even doubts when it seems everyone else is
so certain about so many things?
In the very last chapter of the last book in the Bible (Revelation 21)
is a list that sometimes bothers me. It is a list of people who are
not going to enter the New Jerusalem. In fact John, the writer of
Revelation, says they will have part in "the second death."
Now part of that list I can understand would not fit in heaven: "the
abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, and all liars" is how
the list ends. But the part that bothers me is how the list begins.
The list of those who miss heaven begins: "But the fearful and the
unbelieving... will have their place in the lake of fire." What does
this mean? Sometimes I feel like the Cowardly Lion, and I admit there
are a lot of questions I cannot honestly answer.
Can the feeling of FEAR keep me out of heaven? [Before I go any
farther, let me say I believe the answer is NO FEELING will keep
you or me out of heaven. Feelings are emotions-- feelings are
results, not causes-- and God is not seeking reasons to exclude,
but to INCLUDE. He is not willing that ANY should perish.
In the Gospel Thomas is afraid to believe and Jesus comes to him--
in the Psalm David is afraid, and he cries out "O God help me!"]
No the feeling will not exclude you.
Still, there IS a fear that can keep us from taking hold of the
gift of LIFE. And there is an unbelief that is not of the mind
but of the heart that says, "I will not submit to God even when
He speaks clearly to me." This passage from John helps us
understand how we can dare trust the Risen Savior.
I. THE DISCIPLES WERE AFRAID TO BELIEVE HOW MUCH GOD LOVED THEM
They lived in a time and place every bit as scary as our own
terror-threatened post-9/11 time. They thought: "It is too good
to be true!" Jesus came and dispelled their fears somewhat--
it took a while.
But Thomas wasn't there. He said, "I have to SEE for myself."
He was afraid to let himself get built up just to be let down
again.
Looking again to Psalm 16, David prays for God's mercy, but
even as he prays he recognizes how audacious it is to talk
to God. He says, "MY GOODNESS EXTENDETH NOT TO THEE." In
another place (Psalm 8) David says, "WHEN I CONSIDER THE HEAVENS,
WHAT IS MAN THAT YOU ARE MINDFUL OF HIM?"
Many of the theologians of our day (whether post-modern, or
process, or deconstructionist, or whatever-- I'm probably ten
years behind in labels) seem to be saying, "You common people
have no idea of how big God really is-- and so you can never
speak about Him with any kind of certainty!" And some of them
carry it so far they are saying 'GOD'S LOVE, IF IT IS THERE,
IS TOO BIG, TOO MYSTERIOUS FOR US TO KNOW AND BE SURE ABOUT.'
It is almost a blocking FEAR before the mystery of God's love.
BUT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE-- WHO TRULY IS BIGGER THAN WE CAN
IMAGINE-- HAS SPOKEN TO US IN THE LIFE AND DEATH AND RESURRECTION
OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST!
That message is understandable even though we can never understand
WHY God should love us! That message IS: GOD LOVES YOU!
Jesus said: "Thomas, I'll help you believe! Blessed are those
who have NOT seen, and still believe! FAITH WITHIN US SAYS:
Jesus really DOES know and care about ME!
Even after the disciples began to grasp the fact that Jesus
was alive, and that He was with them again, there was a
hesitation to dare to believe what Jesus was asking them to
do (commanding them, actually).
II. THE DISCIPLES COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT GOD EXPECTED OF THEM
Jesus began outlining his assignment for the church that very night.
First, he BREATHED ON THEM, and said: RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Be carriers of God! Be contagious with LOVE! Exude confidence
that God is GOOD!
I'm sure they did not grasp it fully then-- nor even fifty days
later at Pentecost-- but the disciples-- and you and I-- are to
be the place where God lives on this earth. We are God's housing!
Do YOU think of yourself as a tabernacle of God? Is God welcome
in YOUR body? In your relationships? is that a new thought to
you? Is it a bit frightening?
God is what this frightened world needs right now! And who do
you suppose God is wanting to use to meet your neighbors and
mine, face-to-Face?
Jesus began assigning His disciples a role in telling the
world that all their sins had been forgiven on Calvary. This
is mysterious, and not easy to understand:
"Those whose sins you forgive they will be forgiven... those
whose sins you don't forgive they will remain..?"
We can stop and get hung up on the translation of words here--
OR we can understand that WE have a part in sharing the Good News
of Salvation.
FEAR said, that night, "Lord Jesus we have all been afraid!
We have all forsaken you and run away! How can WE ever accept
such an assignment?"
But FAITH SAID: "YOU CAN SHOW ME HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT!
YOU CAN HELP ME SHARE THE MESSAGE OF SINS FORGIVEN!" And that is
exactly what happened.
That is all well and good for the disciples..then..and for the
worship times in church. But what about the everyday fears that
come-- AND WHAT ABOUT THE REALLY DARK PLACES IN LIFE THAT COME
TO US ALL? Can fear defeat us when we face the worst life can
offer? It is frightening to think there are people who hate us
just because we live where we do, and believe what we believe-
but in the darkness is where even little lights can shine brightly!
Jesus loves YOU! He is with you and me! He says "Tell people that
God loves them! God is GOOD!"
III. WE ALL FACE FEAR'S CHALLENGE IN OUR DARK HOURS OF THE SOUL
Faith's victory over fear is NOT just doctrine or theory. We cannot
help at times FEELING overwhelmed-- even pushed toward despair.
In the Garden of Gethsemene Jesus Himself prayed like one who
hated, even dreaded what lay out ahead. He prayed, "O MY FATHER,
IF IT BE POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME!"
In the Psalm (16) David wrote the script for the Messiah's hope
even though it was 800 years or so before the time-- he wrote for
Jesus-- and for all who follow Jesus-- "THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY
SOUL IN HELL, NOR SUFFER YOUR OWN TO SEE CORRUPTION"
Our souls somehow become the battlefield of fear versus faith.
For insight into that aspect of the emotions of fear and temptation
to unbelief there is no better book than The Book of Job. Job
loved God-- and refused to believe God was anything but GOOD!
He certainly did not understand what was going on. But Job said,
"GOD KNOWS! I WILL TRUST HIM!" Faith went beyond what it could see,
and even what it could NOT see-- and reached for the hand of God.
In some of Britain's darkest hours in WW II, the people listened by
their radios on New Year's Eve as their king, King George VI, gave
his annual greeting to his people over BBC. It was truly a fearsome
time. The very existence of their nation was at risk. And the king
that night quoted words that have since become famous. He said:
"I said to the man who stands at the Gate of the Year, 'Give me
light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied,
'Step into the darkness, put your hand into the hand of God, and
that will be to you better than a light and safer than a known
way.'"
David said, "In your Presence is joy! If I can just BE WITH YOU I
will be all right!" We do not have to wait until we die and go to
heaven to know God's Presence. He is near, He is with us today.
If we will let Him he will live within us, and walk with us. We
may not know all about Him, but we may know Him. He loves us,
and his perfect love casts out fear, our own fear, and the fear
that we cannot tell our frightened neighbors with assurance:
"God is GOOD! God loves YOU!."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
THe Jesus Prayer
THE JESUS PRAYER
Luke 18: 9 - 14
Two men went up to the temple to pray to the one true God. One
man stood by himself in his shining goodness. The other man stood
afar off in consciousness of his sinfulness.
This is a pointed story. Jesus told it to some people who were
trusting in themselves for salvation, and were actively putting down
other seekers after God.
In this story the first character, THE PHARISEE, was the sort of
fellow you think of as the pillar of society. He was regular in
paying his bills, he belonged to the Rotary Club, he drove a Cadillac,
he tithed a pretty hefty income.
The second character, THE TAX COLLECTOR, was different. He was
far down the social scale. He had a shady reputation. He had
business dealings with unbelievers. He would not deny being a sinner.
The PHARISEE had a LOAD of righteousness-- self-righteousness.
It was a comparative righteousness. He compared himself to people he
despised: "I thank You God that I am not as others are -- thieves,
rogues, adulterers, or, God forbid, even like this tax collector
standing there!" And he measured his religion in adding up the good
things he did. "Add these things up," he said to God. "I fast twice
in the week, I give a tenth of all my income, I'm really quite a
valuable addition to your temple, God!"
The TAX COLLECTOR, on the other hand, stood far off, away from
the altar. His head was down. He smote his breast. He acknowledged
his sin.
It is not acceptable in polite society today to talk about "sin"
and "guilt." We deserve a break today! Remember rights, and
entitlement! Guilt is always bad-- always unhealthy.
I agree that guilt is something we do not have to live with. But
I do not agree that all guilt is either inappropriate or bad. There
is a kind of acknowledging of guilt which is actually healthy, because
it accepts responsibility. Facing real guilt is the first step to
real forgiveness and real peace with God. "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS," is
the promise, "GOD IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AND TO
CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." (I John 1:9) [We like the "all
unrighteousness" part-- we don't always hear the "If we confess"
part!]
The Bible says that whether we are up-and-outers like the
Pharisee, or down- and-outers like the tax collector, "all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) We are all
sinners by birth, and every one of us have sinned by choice. Sin is
putting anything or anyone ahead of God.
Two men went up the hill to pray. The PHARISEE went up the hill
to the temple knowing that he was better than most people. The TAX
COLLECTOR went up the hill to the temple knowing that he had come
short of God's glory. He didn't try to fool either God or himself for
even a minute. He prayed this prayer: "Lord, be merciful to me a
sinner."
Two men went down the hill from the temple that day. Jesus said
the tax collector went back home justified. The Pharisee just went
back home.
The simplicity of the prayer the tax collector prayed all too
often escapes us. We know that following Jesus involves doing as well
as being. Being Christian takes discipline and prayer. So we forget
how simple and how basic it is to say from the heart, "Jesus is Lord!"
We memorize Romans 10:9,10, but we forget the impact of that short
prayer.
When we get away from the simplicity of the faith we start
building our own righteousness. We begin to THINK like the Pharisee,
even if we don't actually put his prayer into our own words.
THIS IS REFORMATION SUNDAY - On this particular Sunday of the
year we recall one man in history who re-discovered the power of the
Jesus prayer and changed the course of history
Let me just mention again a few facts from Luther's life that
underscore this story Jesus told:
Martin Luther was born in 1483, and as a young man started out to
study law. About the time he finished law studies, in 1505, a
lightning bolt scared the wits out of him, and he promised God he
would become a monk-- went on to become a priest-- was a
brilliant but not-very-happy seeker after salvation.
The church of Luther's day was often guilty of praying the prayer
of the Pharisee. Like every human institution, our own included,
there was a strong incentive to preserve the machinery and to
forget the spirit of Christ-- to legalize and legislate, and
forget the simple truth of grace. Luther was frustrated,
unsatisfied in his own heart.
In 1513, the year after receiving his Doctorate and becoming
teacher/preacher at Wittenberg, Martin began lecturing on the
Psalms. When he arrived at Psalm 72, as he was lecturing to the
students he got new insight concerning "the righteousness of
God." (Have you read Psalm 72 lately? I had to re-read it again
to see what was so revolutionary as to catch Martin Luther's
imagination:
(Psalm 72:12) For (God) will deliver the needy when he cries
for help, the humble also, and him who has no helper. (13) He
will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the souls of
the needy he will save....)
Martin Luther began to see the compassion of God. Up until this
time Luther had only feared God, as a tyrant judge. He began to
see God's righteousness as a quality which God was willing to
give to believers, and which would make them acceptable in his
Presence.
Then in his study of Romans Luther re-discovered "The Just shall
live by faith!" Luther discovered that he had had it all
backwards: WE DO NOT ACHIEVE FAITH BY BEING RIGHTEOUS, BUT WE
RECEIVE CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH! Still Luther asked
questions of himself, recorded in his works, such as:
"Are you alone wise? Can it be that everyone else is in error and
has been in error for so long? What if you are wrong and lead
into error so many people who might then be eternally damned?
But Luther could not remain quiet forever. Things came to a head
when fund raisers came through Saxony selling coupons to get
people out of purgatory. It was just three years after Psalm 72
had spoken to him, and after he had re-discovered the great truth
in Romans "The just shall live by faith!" that the crisis came.
On October 31, 1517, exactly 478 years ago this very week, Martin
Luther nailed his 95 Theses, 95 statements for debate on, among
other things, why the sale of indulgences were evil- on the
Cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. He wrote these
propositions for debate in Latin-- but the 95 theses were also
translated into the common German, and printed, and spread far
and wide. The business of indulgences, salvation from purgatory
by works, was ruined in that part of Saxony. The Reformation was
under way.
Nearly four years later, in April of 1521, Luther was summoned to
Worms to defend his position before a Diet of the clergy and
secular rulers. On the first day of his appearance Luther saw
that he would not be permitted to make a speech, and he begged
for a day to think of his answer.
Luther was not admitted to the Diet the next day until nightfall,
and he stood in the candle-lighted Episcopal hall next to the
great cathedral. After realizing again that there was no room for
debate, Luther made this statement:
"Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the
Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds and
reasoning-- and my conscience is captive to the Word of God--
then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe
nor wise to act against conscience."
And then he added the famous words: "Here I stand. I can do no
other. God help me! Amen" And with those words Luther became an
outlaw.
Thus endeth the "history lesson" this Reformation Sunday!
The "two ways of justification" are still with us today.
If we are honest-- there are times when we have stood in the
place where the Pharisee stood in the story. We have compared
ourselves to other mortals instead of seeing a holy God. We have
added up our good and hoped it outweighed the bad.
But there are NOT two ways to find peace with God. There ARE NO
human beings who can justify themselves in God's holy eyes. There are
NONE of us who dare to despise others, and compare our holiness with
other sinners.
In our Wesleyan tradition we need to learn to live in the healthy
tension between the call of God to holiness and the humility of
knowing that our performance often comes short of God's glory. Our
Savior can give us grace to live above willful sin in word thought and
deed. Our Savior also taught us to pray every day, "Forgive us our
debts as we forgive our debtors!" Can we live with the paradox of not
sinning and confession our sins? Can we seek to be God's instruments
and NOT seek to use God selfishly?
There is a prayer, an ancient prayer, actually, that came out of
this passage, no doubt. It is called The Jesus Prayer. I'm sure that
a number of Nazarenes would not want to pray this prayer because we
have been forgiven and are no longer in active, willful, outbroken sin,
no longer in rebellion against God. . . .
I can still hear the wisdom of my elders saying "If we start
calling mistakes 'sin,' it won't be long until we are calling sin
'mistakes.'" In other words we cannot excuse any willful sin in our
lives.
Still the fact remains that Jesus has given us the Lord's
Prayer-- and also he has given us this story to keep us from trusting
in our own righteousness, and comparing it with others. That ancient
prayer, the Jesus Prayer simply goes like this:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
It is a powerful prayer when it becomes a way of life! Shall WE pray?
———————————————————————————————————
Luke 18: 9 - 14
Two men went up to the temple to pray to the one true God. One
man stood by himself in his shining goodness. The other man stood
afar off in consciousness of his sinfulness.
This is a pointed story. Jesus told it to some people who were
trusting in themselves for salvation, and were actively putting down
other seekers after God.
In this story the first character, THE PHARISEE, was the sort of
fellow you think of as the pillar of society. He was regular in
paying his bills, he belonged to the Rotary Club, he drove a Cadillac,
he tithed a pretty hefty income.
The second character, THE TAX COLLECTOR, was different. He was
far down the social scale. He had a shady reputation. He had
business dealings with unbelievers. He would not deny being a sinner.
The PHARISEE had a LOAD of righteousness-- self-righteousness.
It was a comparative righteousness. He compared himself to people he
despised: "I thank You God that I am not as others are -- thieves,
rogues, adulterers, or, God forbid, even like this tax collector
standing there!" And he measured his religion in adding up the good
things he did. "Add these things up," he said to God. "I fast twice
in the week, I give a tenth of all my income, I'm really quite a
valuable addition to your temple, God!"
The TAX COLLECTOR, on the other hand, stood far off, away from
the altar. His head was down. He smote his breast. He acknowledged
his sin.
It is not acceptable in polite society today to talk about "sin"
and "guilt." We deserve a break today! Remember rights, and
entitlement! Guilt is always bad-- always unhealthy.
I agree that guilt is something we do not have to live with. But
I do not agree that all guilt is either inappropriate or bad. There
is a kind of acknowledging of guilt which is actually healthy, because
it accepts responsibility. Facing real guilt is the first step to
real forgiveness and real peace with God. "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS," is
the promise, "GOD IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS, AND TO
CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS." (I John 1:9) [We like the "all
unrighteousness" part-- we don't always hear the "If we confess"
part!]
The Bible says that whether we are up-and-outers like the
Pharisee, or down- and-outers like the tax collector, "all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) We are all
sinners by birth, and every one of us have sinned by choice. Sin is
putting anything or anyone ahead of God.
Two men went up the hill to pray. The PHARISEE went up the hill
to the temple knowing that he was better than most people. The TAX
COLLECTOR went up the hill to the temple knowing that he had come
short of God's glory. He didn't try to fool either God or himself for
even a minute. He prayed this prayer: "Lord, be merciful to me a
sinner."
Two men went down the hill from the temple that day. Jesus said
the tax collector went back home justified. The Pharisee just went
back home.
The simplicity of the prayer the tax collector prayed all too
often escapes us. We know that following Jesus involves doing as well
as being. Being Christian takes discipline and prayer. So we forget
how simple and how basic it is to say from the heart, "Jesus is Lord!"
We memorize Romans 10:9,10, but we forget the impact of that short
prayer.
When we get away from the simplicity of the faith we start
building our own righteousness. We begin to THINK like the Pharisee,
even if we don't actually put his prayer into our own words.
THIS IS REFORMATION SUNDAY - On this particular Sunday of the
year we recall one man in history who re-discovered the power of the
Jesus prayer and changed the course of history
Let me just mention again a few facts from Luther's life that
underscore this story Jesus told:
Martin Luther was born in 1483, and as a young man started out to
study law. About the time he finished law studies, in 1505, a
lightning bolt scared the wits out of him, and he promised God he
would become a monk-- went on to become a priest-- was a
brilliant but not-very-happy seeker after salvation.
The church of Luther's day was often guilty of praying the prayer
of the Pharisee. Like every human institution, our own included,
there was a strong incentive to preserve the machinery and to
forget the spirit of Christ-- to legalize and legislate, and
forget the simple truth of grace. Luther was frustrated,
unsatisfied in his own heart.
In 1513, the year after receiving his Doctorate and becoming
teacher/preacher at Wittenberg, Martin began lecturing on the
Psalms. When he arrived at Psalm 72, as he was lecturing to the
students he got new insight concerning "the righteousness of
God." (Have you read Psalm 72 lately? I had to re-read it again
to see what was so revolutionary as to catch Martin Luther's
imagination:
(Psalm 72:12) For (God) will deliver the needy when he cries
for help, the humble also, and him who has no helper. (13) He
will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the souls of
the needy he will save....)
Martin Luther began to see the compassion of God. Up until this
time Luther had only feared God, as a tyrant judge. He began to
see God's righteousness as a quality which God was willing to
give to believers, and which would make them acceptable in his
Presence.
Then in his study of Romans Luther re-discovered "The Just shall
live by faith!" Luther discovered that he had had it all
backwards: WE DO NOT ACHIEVE FAITH BY BEING RIGHTEOUS, BUT WE
RECEIVE CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH! Still Luther asked
questions of himself, recorded in his works, such as:
"Are you alone wise? Can it be that everyone else is in error and
has been in error for so long? What if you are wrong and lead
into error so many people who might then be eternally damned?
But Luther could not remain quiet forever. Things came to a head
when fund raisers came through Saxony selling coupons to get
people out of purgatory. It was just three years after Psalm 72
had spoken to him, and after he had re-discovered the great truth
in Romans "The just shall live by faith!" that the crisis came.
On October 31, 1517, exactly 478 years ago this very week, Martin
Luther nailed his 95 Theses, 95 statements for debate on, among
other things, why the sale of indulgences were evil- on the
Cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. He wrote these
propositions for debate in Latin-- but the 95 theses were also
translated into the common German, and printed, and spread far
and wide. The business of indulgences, salvation from purgatory
by works, was ruined in that part of Saxony. The Reformation was
under way.
Nearly four years later, in April of 1521, Luther was summoned to
Worms to defend his position before a Diet of the clergy and
secular rulers. On the first day of his appearance Luther saw
that he would not be permitted to make a speech, and he begged
for a day to think of his answer.
Luther was not admitted to the Diet the next day until nightfall,
and he stood in the candle-lighted Episcopal hall next to the
great cathedral. After realizing again that there was no room for
debate, Luther made this statement:
"Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the
Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds and
reasoning-- and my conscience is captive to the Word of God--
then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe
nor wise to act against conscience."
And then he added the famous words: "Here I stand. I can do no
other. God help me! Amen" And with those words Luther became an
outlaw.
Thus endeth the "history lesson" this Reformation Sunday!
The "two ways of justification" are still with us today.
If we are honest-- there are times when we have stood in the
place where the Pharisee stood in the story. We have compared
ourselves to other mortals instead of seeing a holy God. We have
added up our good and hoped it outweighed the bad.
But there are NOT two ways to find peace with God. There ARE NO
human beings who can justify themselves in God's holy eyes. There are
NONE of us who dare to despise others, and compare our holiness with
other sinners.
In our Wesleyan tradition we need to learn to live in the healthy
tension between the call of God to holiness and the humility of
knowing that our performance often comes short of God's glory. Our
Savior can give us grace to live above willful sin in word thought and
deed. Our Savior also taught us to pray every day, "Forgive us our
debts as we forgive our debtors!" Can we live with the paradox of not
sinning and confession our sins? Can we seek to be God's instruments
and NOT seek to use God selfishly?
There is a prayer, an ancient prayer, actually, that came out of
this passage, no doubt. It is called The Jesus Prayer. I'm sure that
a number of Nazarenes would not want to pray this prayer because we
have been forgiven and are no longer in active, willful, outbroken sin,
no longer in rebellion against God. . . .
I can still hear the wisdom of my elders saying "If we start
calling mistakes 'sin,' it won't be long until we are calling sin
'mistakes.'" In other words we cannot excuse any willful sin in our
lives.
Still the fact remains that Jesus has given us the Lord's
Prayer-- and also he has given us this story to keep us from trusting
in our own righteousness, and comparing it with others. That ancient
prayer, the Jesus Prayer simply goes like this:
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
It is a powerful prayer when it becomes a way of life! Shall WE pray?
———————————————————————————————————
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tides and Currents don't Determine Destination
September 6, 1998
8:45 & 11 o'clock services
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene
A PLEA FOR USEFUL
-Philemon 10-
If you fish or sail in salt water you need to know at least
something about tides and currents and channels. When I first went
fishing on my own for flounder - you can ask my sons John and Steve -
I nearly got stranded on shoal. But I'm a fast learner, and soon I
learned a little about reading tide charts and watching weather fronts
and seasons of the moon. It was all new and wonderful for a
mid-westerner like me.
For years I owned a little boat. (I named it Conference.
That way the office people could say that the pastor was in Conference
for the rest of the afternoon.) I found that TIDES AND CURRENTS DO
NOT DETERMINE DESTINATIONS. That is what rudders and engines and sails
are for. While you don't dare ignore the tides and currents, you also
never get anywhere if you let them dictate where you go and how you
fish. When you can, you make them serve you. When you can't go with or
against them, you cut across as best you can with your destination in
mind.
[When one nor'easter threatened my boat at mooring at Squantum
Yacht Club, I took the launch out to the mooring, and slipped the
cable and started around Moon Island for the boat ramp at Boston Gas
ramp in Dorchester. Just as I started from the mooring I saw a man
waving his arms at me back at the Yacht Club dock, and maneuvered back
to pick up John Stark. John has forgotten more about salt water and
boats and fishing than I will ever know, and he wanted to go along for
the fun of the roller coaster ride into the nor'easter. Just as we
were about to go out of sight around Moon island one of the club
members said to Jim Stark, who was watching his dad and me through
binoculars, "Look at those two fools out there!" Jim said, "That is
my pastor and my father!" We respected the elements, but were willing
to take the risk for the safety of the boat and because we really
enjoyed the ride!]
THE TIDES AND CURRENTS OF LIFE CANNOT DETERMINE OUR ULTIMATE
DESTINATIONS. WE CAN GO WHERE GOD INTENDS FOR US TO GO!
IN THE TINY BOOK OF THE BIBLE, PHILEMON, which is actually a personal
letter from the first century, we have the story of how two men were
challenged to take a voyage across the strong currents of their day.
Behind this personal and private letter is the story of Onesimus and
Philemon and the course they felt they had to take across the tides
and currents of their culture.
TO THE CITY OF COLOSSE in western Asia Minor THE GOSPEL OF
JESUS CHRIST CAME ONE DAY in the message of Paul the apostle. A
church was established Among the households affected was that of a
wealthy man named Philemon.
In that day when a man converted so did his whole household,
his wife, children, servants, and relatives. Among the servants
slaves, really- was Onesimus. Whatever his real name had been, he has
been named "Useful."
"Useful" may have been officially baptized, but he watched his
chance and one day he escaped, and took with him a sum of his master's
money. He made his way into Europe, to Rome a thousand miles from
Colosse. In that huge city slaves could melt into the population and
be free forever. But there in Rome Onesimus, Useful, just happened to
meet again the very preacher who had baptized him back in Colosse.
It is impossible for me, or for you or anyone to know what the
tides and currents of culture were really like back then. We don't
know, either, how Onesimus decided he needed to go the thousand miles
back to the east to face Philemon. The Bible does not condone slavery
in any form. But evidently Jesus was making demands on Philemon that
seemed hard if not impossible. Onesimus knew he had to make good what
he had stolen. And so Paul wrote this letter. And Onesimus set off
to deliver it himself.
Think of the cost these men had to pay to face the tides and
currents! The cost to Onesimus is obvious. He risked his freedom and
his life. But the cost to Philemon was great as well. He would be
branded as a slave-coddler. He would be vilified by other wealthy
people in his society. He might even encourage slave-revolt.
Jesus made demands on both these men because he knew they
could make the destination he set for them. The letter doesn't tell
us what happened next. But tradition tells us that not only was
Onesimus received and forgiven, but that he became the pastor in
Colosse. Onesimus was one of the early bishops in Asia Minor.
JESUS HAS A WAY OF CHALLENGING EVERY ONE OF US to cut across the
popular currents and tides of our times. The strong tides today tell
us it is fine to be religious, but that we don't need to get carried
away by our faith. It is not the central thing around which to build
our lives.
The strong currents today say that morality is relative and
comparative. "I may not be perfectly honest in my dealings, but I am
not nearly as bad as my neighbors."
The accepted channels even in evangelical circles tell us that if we
have the proper views on abortion and say the right words about family
values then we are spiritual, and good Christians. Jesus challenges us
to dare to be honest with ourselves and with Him, and with one
another! Our faith must move beyond "experience" into the realm of
relationship. He asks us to dare to follow Him no matter which way the
tides are running and the wind is blowing.
(CONCLUSION)
It only makes common sense if you are fishing or sailing in
salt water to know something about the tides and currents. It only
makes good sense if you are living for Jesus in a secular, pluralistic
world to understand a little bit about the way the winds blow. You
may have to run for cover some times. You may have to wait while a
northeaster blows over. But the winds and tides do not determine your
final destination.
WHEN WE WERE BUILDING THIS SANCTUARY eighteen years ago (thirty years as this is copied into Facebook)we had quite a
discussion over just how the steeple would be. We all agreed this
building should be a testimony in itself to the worship of God and the
fellowship of the church. It is Georgian Colonial in architecture
inside and out and (except for the elevator and wall-to-wall
carpeting) as authentic as some gifted members of our building
committee could make it.
That committee thought a nice weather vane on the steeple
would add a great authentic touch to a New England house of
worship. Protestant churches in colonial times did not have crosses on
their steeples. But in my stubborn way I insisted I did not want a
church that seemed to say to the neighborhood "This is the way the
winds are blowing just now!"
A church is not primarily to tell people which way the wind is
blowing, but which way it is to heaven. So without any visible hard
feelings the steeple went up without a weather vane and without a
cross. I confess I may have hidden some pain! And the steeple really
looked "bare" up there 100 feet in the air!
But then Wesley Angell, a great member of our board who knew
more about building than anyone, noticed that the steeple was not
perfectly straight. Sure enough, it had been damaged in the
installation, and no one had seen it but Wesley. The steeple had to
come down for repairs. And in the meantime the committee got back
together. They inquired how much a cross would cost. And you can see
what happened!
Since that day when a crane carried the cross 104 feet to the
top of the steeple more than 6,500 days and nights have passed. There
have been hurricanes and blizzards and foggy nights and blistering hot
days. The wind has blown from every point of the compass and with
every intensity from dead calm to full hurricane. But the cross
stands there reminding us that there is a Way to heaven, and that if
we will follow Jesus nothing can ultimately defeat us from the
destination He has for us here in this life, and in the one to come.
8:45 & 11 o'clock services
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene
A PLEA FOR USEFUL
-Philemon 10-
If you fish or sail in salt water you need to know at least
something about tides and currents and channels. When I first went
fishing on my own for flounder - you can ask my sons John and Steve -
I nearly got stranded on shoal. But I'm a fast learner, and soon I
learned a little about reading tide charts and watching weather fronts
and seasons of the moon. It was all new and wonderful for a
mid-westerner like me.
For years I owned a little boat. (I named it Conference.
That way the office people could say that the pastor was in Conference
for the rest of the afternoon.) I found that TIDES AND CURRENTS DO
NOT DETERMINE DESTINATIONS. That is what rudders and engines and sails
are for. While you don't dare ignore the tides and currents, you also
never get anywhere if you let them dictate where you go and how you
fish. When you can, you make them serve you. When you can't go with or
against them, you cut across as best you can with your destination in
mind.
[When one nor'easter threatened my boat at mooring at Squantum
Yacht Club, I took the launch out to the mooring, and slipped the
cable and started around Moon Island for the boat ramp at Boston Gas
ramp in Dorchester. Just as I started from the mooring I saw a man
waving his arms at me back at the Yacht Club dock, and maneuvered back
to pick up John Stark. John has forgotten more about salt water and
boats and fishing than I will ever know, and he wanted to go along for
the fun of the roller coaster ride into the nor'easter. Just as we
were about to go out of sight around Moon island one of the club
members said to Jim Stark, who was watching his dad and me through
binoculars, "Look at those two fools out there!" Jim said, "That is
my pastor and my father!" We respected the elements, but were willing
to take the risk for the safety of the boat and because we really
enjoyed the ride!]
THE TIDES AND CURRENTS OF LIFE CANNOT DETERMINE OUR ULTIMATE
DESTINATIONS. WE CAN GO WHERE GOD INTENDS FOR US TO GO!
IN THE TINY BOOK OF THE BIBLE, PHILEMON, which is actually a personal
letter from the first century, we have the story of how two men were
challenged to take a voyage across the strong currents of their day.
Behind this personal and private letter is the story of Onesimus and
Philemon and the course they felt they had to take across the tides
and currents of their culture.
TO THE CITY OF COLOSSE in western Asia Minor THE GOSPEL OF
JESUS CHRIST CAME ONE DAY in the message of Paul the apostle. A
church was established Among the households affected was that of a
wealthy man named Philemon.
In that day when a man converted so did his whole household,
his wife, children, servants, and relatives. Among the servants
slaves, really- was Onesimus. Whatever his real name had been, he has
been named "Useful."
"Useful" may have been officially baptized, but he watched his
chance and one day he escaped, and took with him a sum of his master's
money. He made his way into Europe, to Rome a thousand miles from
Colosse. In that huge city slaves could melt into the population and
be free forever. But there in Rome Onesimus, Useful, just happened to
meet again the very preacher who had baptized him back in Colosse.
It is impossible for me, or for you or anyone to know what the
tides and currents of culture were really like back then. We don't
know, either, how Onesimus decided he needed to go the thousand miles
back to the east to face Philemon. The Bible does not condone slavery
in any form. But evidently Jesus was making demands on Philemon that
seemed hard if not impossible. Onesimus knew he had to make good what
he had stolen. And so Paul wrote this letter. And Onesimus set off
to deliver it himself.
Think of the cost these men had to pay to face the tides and
currents! The cost to Onesimus is obvious. He risked his freedom and
his life. But the cost to Philemon was great as well. He would be
branded as a slave-coddler. He would be vilified by other wealthy
people in his society. He might even encourage slave-revolt.
Jesus made demands on both these men because he knew they
could make the destination he set for them. The letter doesn't tell
us what happened next. But tradition tells us that not only was
Onesimus received and forgiven, but that he became the pastor in
Colosse. Onesimus was one of the early bishops in Asia Minor.
JESUS HAS A WAY OF CHALLENGING EVERY ONE OF US to cut across the
popular currents and tides of our times. The strong tides today tell
us it is fine to be religious, but that we don't need to get carried
away by our faith. It is not the central thing around which to build
our lives.
The strong currents today say that morality is relative and
comparative. "I may not be perfectly honest in my dealings, but I am
not nearly as bad as my neighbors."
The accepted channels even in evangelical circles tell us that if we
have the proper views on abortion and say the right words about family
values then we are spiritual, and good Christians. Jesus challenges us
to dare to be honest with ourselves and with Him, and with one
another! Our faith must move beyond "experience" into the realm of
relationship. He asks us to dare to follow Him no matter which way the
tides are running and the wind is blowing.
(CONCLUSION)
It only makes common sense if you are fishing or sailing in
salt water to know something about the tides and currents. It only
makes good sense if you are living for Jesus in a secular, pluralistic
world to understand a little bit about the way the winds blow. You
may have to run for cover some times. You may have to wait while a
northeaster blows over. But the winds and tides do not determine your
final destination.
WHEN WE WERE BUILDING THIS SANCTUARY eighteen years ago (thirty years as this is copied into Facebook)we had quite a
discussion over just how the steeple would be. We all agreed this
building should be a testimony in itself to the worship of God and the
fellowship of the church. It is Georgian Colonial in architecture
inside and out and (except for the elevator and wall-to-wall
carpeting) as authentic as some gifted members of our building
committee could make it.
That committee thought a nice weather vane on the steeple
would add a great authentic touch to a New England house of
worship. Protestant churches in colonial times did not have crosses on
their steeples. But in my stubborn way I insisted I did not want a
church that seemed to say to the neighborhood "This is the way the
winds are blowing just now!"
A church is not primarily to tell people which way the wind is
blowing, but which way it is to heaven. So without any visible hard
feelings the steeple went up without a weather vane and without a
cross. I confess I may have hidden some pain! And the steeple really
looked "bare" up there 100 feet in the air!
But then Wesley Angell, a great member of our board who knew
more about building than anyone, noticed that the steeple was not
perfectly straight. Sure enough, it had been damaged in the
installation, and no one had seen it but Wesley. The steeple had to
come down for repairs. And in the meantime the committee got back
together. They inquired how much a cross would cost. And you can see
what happened!
Since that day when a crane carried the cross 104 feet to the
top of the steeple more than 6,500 days and nights have passed. There
have been hurricanes and blizzards and foggy nights and blistering hot
days. The wind has blown from every point of the compass and with
every intensity from dead calm to full hurricane. But the cross
stands there reminding us that there is a Way to heaven, and that if
we will follow Jesus nothing can ultimately defeat us from the
destination He has for us here in this life, and in the one to come.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
For those with Patience, LONG
TEN YEARS AGO THIS WAS PUBLISHED
IN THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE
I STAND BY IT:
Charting the Changing Scenes in Corporate Worship
Article written and published for Preacher's Magazine
by Dr. Russell Metcalfe, Pastor Emeritus,
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene,
Quincy, Massachusetts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just what goes into the Sunday morning worship service at your church and mine? Why do we do what we do? Why do we have Wednesday night Bible study? Why does there seem to be a conflict between some of the needs, interests, and purposes of various representative groups in our congregation? What should we be seeking to accomplish in worship? Is worship a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?
Some of the tenets we stress, and some of the concerns we ignore, may reflect ecclesiastical and doctrinal battles that were old long before we were born. Some of the things we hold as absolutely sacrosanct may be handed down from scriptural times, or they could be derived from idiosyncrasies or personal convictions of some strong personality of comparatively recent years.
God has not been included in this study as a "component part" of worship, for God is what worship is all about. Worship is centered in God, and is directed to Him--or should be. It is taken to be a "given" in this article that real worship will be our attempt to bring our best, our all, to the loving praise of God's glory; and that real worship is not complete unless and until a dynamic connection takes place, a Presence.
Seven elements of worship, according to James F. White, in a fairly recent book, are people, piety, time, place, prayer, preaching, and music. People are "the primary liturgical document." Piety, Time, and Place are what he terms the circumstances of worship; while prayer, preaching and music are the acts of worship.
In graphic form the elements of worship might look like this:
2. Piety 5. Prayer
3. Time 1. People 6. Preaching
4. Place 7. Music [1]
1. "People," to quote James White, are "the primary liturgical document."[2]
Worship which does not connect culturally is like instruction in a foreign language. In any normal church setting there is a wide range of levels of moral and intellectual development represented. Age groups see similar issues from different slants. Birthright Catholics see things differently from past Pentecostals or former Baptists. When there are a variety of cultures represented, a special challenge obtains.
Added to this are the changing attitudes of society at large, attitudes that are often all-too-quickly reflected in the church setting. Deliberate choices must be made by worship leaders about when to seek to be like other voices in current society (culturally correct?) and thus "connect" with people in tune with entertainment, pop psychology, and success-oriented thinking, and when to confront popular thinking, me-ism and television influence with demands for clear separation of lifestyle. Currently we see some odd combinations of living in the name of Christ-likeness.
Much is currently written about the influences of the baby-boomer and baby-buster generations in American society. Depending on how recent trends are interpreted, the flower children and peace-niks of the late sixties and seventies gave way to narcissism and introversion of the eighties, with continued emphasis on physical appearance and youth.
Some of the changing dynamics reported in various denominations have included lack of loyalty to any tradition; supermarket mentality in consumerism; lack of interest in Sunday School or midweek services, and more recently in the necessity for two services on Sunday; relaxed dress codes reflecting sometimes relaxed behavior codes; swing away from classical modes in music, literature, worship styles; instant gratification; preaching that affirms instead of confronts sin or wrongdoing; increasing conflict between a movement's drive and a denomination's stability. [3]
2. Piety refers to the climate in which we relate to God and to each other.
Probably it has most to do with the deeply held concepts of God that we have formed.
People who think of God first as a "God of vengeance," always looking for faults and sins, will worship differently from people who conceive of God as "keeping score, but willing to forgive," which is different from others who see God as predominately interested in sharing His life and joy.
Worship can cover a spectrum from totally evangelistic, with the assumption that everyone present needs to be severely chastised for falling short of God's glory, to almost totally praise and positive thinking, assuming that the assembled church is already "family."
For the purpose of categorizing only, think of three viable evangelistic modes or "sets" of worship as:
evangelistic;
penitential (with confession/absolution as central focus); and
resurrection, or rejoicing and celebration.
It is my contention that an ideal evangelical church will have a blending of all three, without getting stuck in any one category.
3. Time refers to the various chronological cycles in which a church worships.
These can be thought of as daily, weekly, yearly, and lifetime. Also under the general heading of time in worship, we consider punctuality or lack of it (often a cultural key,) and the usual length of services, and that length in relationship to the overall time-usage of the worshipers. Highly scheduled people will respond differently from more casual approaches to time management.
In a lifetime cycle certain churches expect their members to do certain things at certain times of their lives in certain ways. Sacraments and sacramental-type events, baptism, joining the church, weddings, passages, and even funerals are observed in widely differing ways, even in the same denomination, in different areas of the country, and in different cultural pockets.
Each church has a yearly cycle, whether or not such has been officially recognized by pastor or people. The American versions of the free church often substituted their own local or national observances for the ancient church calendar abandoned in Europe by immediate forebears. Ethnic-based evangelicals brought old-country celebrations or prohibition of celebrations with them to this country when they came. Evangelicals of many denominations in recent years have discovered the richness of the yearly cycles observed by Christians across the centuries, of days of Advent, Lent, Pentecost, Trinity, and many others.
Also under yearly cycles come such events as revival meetings; district events such as assemblies; as well as unspoken or tacit "attitudes" at various times of the year, such as "easing off" in the summer time from choir and from strictness of form in worship to accommodate vacation habits of large proportion of our people; the gathering of intensity as school starts in the fall; the unspoken and often unrecognized weariness and temptation to negativism in the spring when fatigue sets in for many who have been "flat out" for eight months or more.
Weekly cycles, too, should be examined. How often do we observe the Lord's Supper? Why? Why do we worship at 11 a.m. on Sunday? (Why NOT?) Why do we hark back to a mid-week prayer service for as long as we can remember? What does a church encourage its members to do regularly in order to maintain vigorous spiritual health?
Daily schedules might refer to what is expected of each participant in a congregation; what sort of prayer/devotional schedule/time management is practiced as the norm (or professed.)
4. Place of worship is the third "circumstance" of worship and is probably more important than usually thought.
There is a saying among those who make worship a study: "The building will always win." That statement is probably very nearly true. Many churches have been started in very unlikely places, and "wherever Jesus is, 'tis heaven there.'" But function is often shaped by form. Certain types of worship are almost dictated by certain arrangements of seating, furniture, and participants, as well as respect demanded by or given to the place of worship itself. Building materials of themselves are not sacred, but even as we love and cherish our houses until they reflect our personalities and become our homes, so the House of the Lord becomes more than the sum of its constituent parts.
The "acts" of worship:
5. Prayer is a universal in worship.
It is unthinkable that there should be worship without prayer. How do the people speak to God? Literally, how do they call Him?--"Thou" or "You"?
[Is there something somehow "holy" about addressing God in Elizabethan language? Do we realize that even then the "Thou" was the more intimate and familiar address that one would use with close friends? But when one has grown up hearing only this form of address to God, it becomes a "language of prayer" and connotes respect; so often the "Thee" or the "you" simply denotes the generation of the pray-er.]
What form does the main prayer of the worship service(s) take? How about he use of printed prayers? Is it a "no-no"? How often is the Lord's Prayer used? Is that important? How are people taught to pray? What emphases on prayer are regularly reviewed?
6. Preaching is another basic "act" in the drama of worship.
It is central in most evangelical services of worship. Exegetical, doctrinal, evangelistic, narrative, topical are all styles or types of sermonizing, plus there are always "fads" of various kinds (participatory, team preaching, drama) that come and go. Personally, I have an almost mystic faith that preaching "connects" when God is Present' that the written Word becomes the Living Word for those who listen with the anointing of God as the preacher preaches with the same chrism.
Others have less lofty ideas of preaching, although it remains central in most Protestant worship orders. James White speaks of one task of preaching as "stressing the corporate memories." [4]
Preaching probably at once shapes and reflects, defines and describes, spurs and soothes, enlightens and condemns, influences and is influenced by the entire church and all of worship. It is not beyond the discussion of the governing board, but is so arranged in my mind that I need a separate agenda for talking about it.
7. Music is the last "act" of worship that we discuss here.
Like preaching, music has "life of its own" in the church and we can approach it from many different directions.
The songs and hymns a congregation often sings say a great deal about the communal mind-set. Spiritual songs and hymns reflect all the tenses and moods of all of life. But in worship we tend to begin and end where our emphases are.
First-person songs tell about "I" and "We." They reflect experience, and they are important and useful. They can also begin and end with "me." God is important because of what He has DONE FOR ME! Of course He is to be praised for what He does for us! To paraphrase another author, we sometimes get the idea that "Jesus, Lover of MY Soul" would be turned around to "MY SOUL, Lover of Jesus!" We easily become self-centered, even in our so-called spirituality. We attract attention to ourselves in insisting that WE will do it such and such a way, etc.
But, too, it is hard to improve on "The Lord is MY Shepherd!"
Third-person songs tend to be statements of fact. They can be exalted statements that lift and bless. But in them we stand back and make observation. "Isn't HE wonderful?" (Of course, He is!) "To God Be the Glory!" lifts us as we sing--and all can freely enter in the praise. Many great doctrinal hymns of the Wesleys and others are in this mood.
But second-person songs and hymns address God in the "I-Thou" mode; they are actually prayers put to music. Whether they are older, accepted hymns ("O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder") or choruses ("Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy O Lord!) they address God directly, and put the assembled congregation into dialogue with God in prayer even when it is not called prayer time. This second-person music must have a central part in any significant plan of worship.
Music is highly significant in the shaping of thought; it reflects our state of piety and belief. Nowhere in the church have the emerging technological advances made more impact; we not only have instant accompaniment by professional sound track musicians in the smallest churches, we have television-trained soloists to clone the stars that make the hits. In some cases, they are cloning the clones of secular singers. These technical facts are not in and of themselves bad or good. What we can lose sight of is the fact that genuinely good music is:
highly subjectively judged; and
not necessarily correlative to genuinely popular church music; and that
there are no spiritual short-cuts to becoming a means or channel of God's blessing, even though it is relatively easy to prepare a performance.
To sing the words and sound the tones may evoke excitement and even applause. To convey the message God intends for the particular occasion still requires preparation for which there is no instant fabrication.
Addenda:
The public worship experience itself is dynamic. In my lifetime I have seen a shift from passive participation, if that is not an oxymoron, where just showing up for church was considered worship, to a demand for more active participation in worship, with an emphasis on saying and doing and responding to the Word.
Where we go from here is hard to predict. I have my own strong preferences, but my tastes are far from universal. Hopefully those who chart a course of worship in their local churches will remember they must speak in a language their people can understand, but also that they do not necessarily need to always say, indeed they dare not always say what their people want to hear. As Wesley urged his preachers to preach Christ in all his offices--prophet, priest, and king--so we who seek to determine the direction of corporate worship must use all the elements of worship in sacramental intentionality solely for the glory of God.
1. White, James F. The Study of Protestant Worship,
(Westminster Press, 1989).
2. Ibid., p. 44.
3. See "The Christian Century," July 10-17, 1991, article by
Paul B. Tinlin and Edith L. Blumhoffer on the 'Dilemmas of
the Assemblies of God.'"
4. White, p. 112.
Permission to reprint or publish this material is GRANTED as long as the reprinting or republishing is not-for-profit. You can access more of Dr. Metcalfe's sermons at his scripturally indexed sermon archives web site. Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of of the Nazarene. You can reach Dr. Metcalfe at eflactem@aol.com.
IN THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE
I STAND BY IT:
Charting the Changing Scenes in Corporate Worship
Article written and published for Preacher's Magazine
by Dr. Russell Metcalfe, Pastor Emeritus,
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene,
Quincy, Massachusetts
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just what goes into the Sunday morning worship service at your church and mine? Why do we do what we do? Why do we have Wednesday night Bible study? Why does there seem to be a conflict between some of the needs, interests, and purposes of various representative groups in our congregation? What should we be seeking to accomplish in worship? Is worship a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?
Some of the tenets we stress, and some of the concerns we ignore, may reflect ecclesiastical and doctrinal battles that were old long before we were born. Some of the things we hold as absolutely sacrosanct may be handed down from scriptural times, or they could be derived from idiosyncrasies or personal convictions of some strong personality of comparatively recent years.
God has not been included in this study as a "component part" of worship, for God is what worship is all about. Worship is centered in God, and is directed to Him--or should be. It is taken to be a "given" in this article that real worship will be our attempt to bring our best, our all, to the loving praise of God's glory; and that real worship is not complete unless and until a dynamic connection takes place, a Presence.
Seven elements of worship, according to James F. White, in a fairly recent book, are people, piety, time, place, prayer, preaching, and music. People are "the primary liturgical document." Piety, Time, and Place are what he terms the circumstances of worship; while prayer, preaching and music are the acts of worship.
In graphic form the elements of worship might look like this:
2. Piety 5. Prayer
3. Time 1. People 6. Preaching
4. Place 7. Music [1]
1. "People," to quote James White, are "the primary liturgical document."[2]
Worship which does not connect culturally is like instruction in a foreign language. In any normal church setting there is a wide range of levels of moral and intellectual development represented. Age groups see similar issues from different slants. Birthright Catholics see things differently from past Pentecostals or former Baptists. When there are a variety of cultures represented, a special challenge obtains.
Added to this are the changing attitudes of society at large, attitudes that are often all-too-quickly reflected in the church setting. Deliberate choices must be made by worship leaders about when to seek to be like other voices in current society (culturally correct?) and thus "connect" with people in tune with entertainment, pop psychology, and success-oriented thinking, and when to confront popular thinking, me-ism and television influence with demands for clear separation of lifestyle. Currently we see some odd combinations of living in the name of Christ-likeness.
Much is currently written about the influences of the baby-boomer and baby-buster generations in American society. Depending on how recent trends are interpreted, the flower children and peace-niks of the late sixties and seventies gave way to narcissism and introversion of the eighties, with continued emphasis on physical appearance and youth.
Some of the changing dynamics reported in various denominations have included lack of loyalty to any tradition; supermarket mentality in consumerism; lack of interest in Sunday School or midweek services, and more recently in the necessity for two services on Sunday; relaxed dress codes reflecting sometimes relaxed behavior codes; swing away from classical modes in music, literature, worship styles; instant gratification; preaching that affirms instead of confronts sin or wrongdoing; increasing conflict between a movement's drive and a denomination's stability. [3]
2. Piety refers to the climate in which we relate to God and to each other.
Probably it has most to do with the deeply held concepts of God that we have formed.
People who think of God first as a "God of vengeance," always looking for faults and sins, will worship differently from people who conceive of God as "keeping score, but willing to forgive," which is different from others who see God as predominately interested in sharing His life and joy.
Worship can cover a spectrum from totally evangelistic, with the assumption that everyone present needs to be severely chastised for falling short of God's glory, to almost totally praise and positive thinking, assuming that the assembled church is already "family."
For the purpose of categorizing only, think of three viable evangelistic modes or "sets" of worship as:
evangelistic;
penitential (with confession/absolution as central focus); and
resurrection, or rejoicing and celebration.
It is my contention that an ideal evangelical church will have a blending of all three, without getting stuck in any one category.
3. Time refers to the various chronological cycles in which a church worships.
These can be thought of as daily, weekly, yearly, and lifetime. Also under the general heading of time in worship, we consider punctuality or lack of it (often a cultural key,) and the usual length of services, and that length in relationship to the overall time-usage of the worshipers. Highly scheduled people will respond differently from more casual approaches to time management.
In a lifetime cycle certain churches expect their members to do certain things at certain times of their lives in certain ways. Sacraments and sacramental-type events, baptism, joining the church, weddings, passages, and even funerals are observed in widely differing ways, even in the same denomination, in different areas of the country, and in different cultural pockets.
Each church has a yearly cycle, whether or not such has been officially recognized by pastor or people. The American versions of the free church often substituted their own local or national observances for the ancient church calendar abandoned in Europe by immediate forebears. Ethnic-based evangelicals brought old-country celebrations or prohibition of celebrations with them to this country when they came. Evangelicals of many denominations in recent years have discovered the richness of the yearly cycles observed by Christians across the centuries, of days of Advent, Lent, Pentecost, Trinity, and many others.
Also under yearly cycles come such events as revival meetings; district events such as assemblies; as well as unspoken or tacit "attitudes" at various times of the year, such as "easing off" in the summer time from choir and from strictness of form in worship to accommodate vacation habits of large proportion of our people; the gathering of intensity as school starts in the fall; the unspoken and often unrecognized weariness and temptation to negativism in the spring when fatigue sets in for many who have been "flat out" for eight months or more.
Weekly cycles, too, should be examined. How often do we observe the Lord's Supper? Why? Why do we worship at 11 a.m. on Sunday? (Why NOT?) Why do we hark back to a mid-week prayer service for as long as we can remember? What does a church encourage its members to do regularly in order to maintain vigorous spiritual health?
Daily schedules might refer to what is expected of each participant in a congregation; what sort of prayer/devotional schedule/time management is practiced as the norm (or professed.)
4. Place of worship is the third "circumstance" of worship and is probably more important than usually thought.
There is a saying among those who make worship a study: "The building will always win." That statement is probably very nearly true. Many churches have been started in very unlikely places, and "wherever Jesus is, 'tis heaven there.'" But function is often shaped by form. Certain types of worship are almost dictated by certain arrangements of seating, furniture, and participants, as well as respect demanded by or given to the place of worship itself. Building materials of themselves are not sacred, but even as we love and cherish our houses until they reflect our personalities and become our homes, so the House of the Lord becomes more than the sum of its constituent parts.
The "acts" of worship:
5. Prayer is a universal in worship.
It is unthinkable that there should be worship without prayer. How do the people speak to God? Literally, how do they call Him?--"Thou" or "You"?
[Is there something somehow "holy" about addressing God in Elizabethan language? Do we realize that even then the "Thou" was the more intimate and familiar address that one would use with close friends? But when one has grown up hearing only this form of address to God, it becomes a "language of prayer" and connotes respect; so often the "Thee" or the "you" simply denotes the generation of the pray-er.]
What form does the main prayer of the worship service(s) take? How about he use of printed prayers? Is it a "no-no"? How often is the Lord's Prayer used? Is that important? How are people taught to pray? What emphases on prayer are regularly reviewed?
6. Preaching is another basic "act" in the drama of worship.
It is central in most evangelical services of worship. Exegetical, doctrinal, evangelistic, narrative, topical are all styles or types of sermonizing, plus there are always "fads" of various kinds (participatory, team preaching, drama) that come and go. Personally, I have an almost mystic faith that preaching "connects" when God is Present' that the written Word becomes the Living Word for those who listen with the anointing of God as the preacher preaches with the same chrism.
Others have less lofty ideas of preaching, although it remains central in most Protestant worship orders. James White speaks of one task of preaching as "stressing the corporate memories." [4]
Preaching probably at once shapes and reflects, defines and describes, spurs and soothes, enlightens and condemns, influences and is influenced by the entire church and all of worship. It is not beyond the discussion of the governing board, but is so arranged in my mind that I need a separate agenda for talking about it.
7. Music is the last "act" of worship that we discuss here.
Like preaching, music has "life of its own" in the church and we can approach it from many different directions.
The songs and hymns a congregation often sings say a great deal about the communal mind-set. Spiritual songs and hymns reflect all the tenses and moods of all of life. But in worship we tend to begin and end where our emphases are.
First-person songs tell about "I" and "We." They reflect experience, and they are important and useful. They can also begin and end with "me." God is important because of what He has DONE FOR ME! Of course He is to be praised for what He does for us! To paraphrase another author, we sometimes get the idea that "Jesus, Lover of MY Soul" would be turned around to "MY SOUL, Lover of Jesus!" We easily become self-centered, even in our so-called spirituality. We attract attention to ourselves in insisting that WE will do it such and such a way, etc.
But, too, it is hard to improve on "The Lord is MY Shepherd!"
Third-person songs tend to be statements of fact. They can be exalted statements that lift and bless. But in them we stand back and make observation. "Isn't HE wonderful?" (Of course, He is!) "To God Be the Glory!" lifts us as we sing--and all can freely enter in the praise. Many great doctrinal hymns of the Wesleys and others are in this mood.
But second-person songs and hymns address God in the "I-Thou" mode; they are actually prayers put to music. Whether they are older, accepted hymns ("O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder") or choruses ("Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy O Lord!) they address God directly, and put the assembled congregation into dialogue with God in prayer even when it is not called prayer time. This second-person music must have a central part in any significant plan of worship.
Music is highly significant in the shaping of thought; it reflects our state of piety and belief. Nowhere in the church have the emerging technological advances made more impact; we not only have instant accompaniment by professional sound track musicians in the smallest churches, we have television-trained soloists to clone the stars that make the hits. In some cases, they are cloning the clones of secular singers. These technical facts are not in and of themselves bad or good. What we can lose sight of is the fact that genuinely good music is:
highly subjectively judged; and
not necessarily correlative to genuinely popular church music; and that
there are no spiritual short-cuts to becoming a means or channel of God's blessing, even though it is relatively easy to prepare a performance.
To sing the words and sound the tones may evoke excitement and even applause. To convey the message God intends for the particular occasion still requires preparation for which there is no instant fabrication.
Addenda:
The public worship experience itself is dynamic. In my lifetime I have seen a shift from passive participation, if that is not an oxymoron, where just showing up for church was considered worship, to a demand for more active participation in worship, with an emphasis on saying and doing and responding to the Word.
Where we go from here is hard to predict. I have my own strong preferences, but my tastes are far from universal. Hopefully those who chart a course of worship in their local churches will remember they must speak in a language their people can understand, but also that they do not necessarily need to always say, indeed they dare not always say what their people want to hear. As Wesley urged his preachers to preach Christ in all his offices--prophet, priest, and king--so we who seek to determine the direction of corporate worship must use all the elements of worship in sacramental intentionality solely for the glory of God.
1. White, James F. The Study of Protestant Worship,
(Westminster Press, 1989).
2. Ibid., p. 44.
3. See "The Christian Century," July 10-17, 1991, article by
Paul B. Tinlin and Edith L. Blumhoffer on the 'Dilemmas of
the Assemblies of God.'"
4. White, p. 112.
Permission to reprint or publish this material is GRANTED as long as the reprinting or republishing is not-for-profit. You can access more of Dr. Metcalfe's sermons at his scripturally indexed sermon archives web site. Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of of the Nazarene. You can reach Dr. Metcalfe at eflactem@aol.com.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Sixty Years Ago- today!
SIXTY YEARS AGO TODAY, exactly, was a Saturday- the day I left home.. Lawrence and Louie Durkee, and Joanne, their daughter, we kind enough to take Lennie and Roy Laudermilk and me along with them to take us from Akron to Boston, to Eastern Nazarene College. Six adults in a nice new but quite compact Plymouth sedan.
The trip took two days. To say I was apprehensive is understatement. I was close to insanity with homesickness. We drove all day and stopped for the night near Syracuse. Mr. Durkee paid for tiny tourist cabins, and Roy and I shared a room just big enough for a bed.
That night I took out my little Bible and opened it "by chance" to Isaiah. I came to Chapter 41, and read the tenth verse (Isaiah 41:10) "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I amthy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Right then I knew God knew where I was even when I did not. I 'got the message' that God was with me and would be with me. That verse that night was a life-line to me. It still is, these sicty (60!) years later- the Presence! The Presence!
I probably have come a long way in beginning to understand "grace"- the unmerited love of God for a sinner. But I know I don't know anything, really-- I have only begun! I cannot explain, or analyse, or prescribe to you or for you. But I can and do tell you that I have come to believe two things: God is GOOD! and God loves ME! (which is to say "God loves YOU!) I am not His favorite-- or maybe, yes, I am! We all are!
The trip took two days. To say I was apprehensive is understatement. I was close to insanity with homesickness. We drove all day and stopped for the night near Syracuse. Mr. Durkee paid for tiny tourist cabins, and Roy and I shared a room just big enough for a bed.
That night I took out my little Bible and opened it "by chance" to Isaiah. I came to Chapter 41, and read the tenth verse (Isaiah 41:10) "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I amthy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Right then I knew God knew where I was even when I did not. I 'got the message' that God was with me and would be with me. That verse that night was a life-line to me. It still is, these sicty (60!) years later- the Presence! The Presence!
I probably have come a long way in beginning to understand "grace"- the unmerited love of God for a sinner. But I know I don't know anything, really-- I have only begun! I cannot explain, or analyse, or prescribe to you or for you. But I can and do tell you that I have come to believe two things: God is GOOD! and God loves ME! (which is to say "God loves YOU!) I am not His favorite-- or maybe, yes, I am! We all are!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
THE CALL TO STAND ON HOLY GROUND
THE CALL TO STAND ON HOLY GROUND
Exodus 3:1-10
Most of the people you meet each day, good bad or indifferent,
live by their wits in this dog-eat-dog world and never think about God
at all. If they ever do consciously think of God they probably think
in terms of restrictions and oughts and shoulds.
But at the same time most of the people we meet each day at some time or other have stopped and asked themselves the question, "Is this what life is all about?"
For when we live by our wits or not, life is full of hard places.
If we were to be brutally honest, it isn't just the most of the
people we meet that are frustrated with life at times-- and who do not
think of God most of the time. People LIKE YOU AND ME who should know
better, or who may have been taught better, or even people who in
earlier times at a youth camp somewhere or a revival meeting or a VBS
made a commitment to God find that they can live a whole day a whole
week a whole month without ever looking to God, and then one day ask
that same question, "Is this what life is all about? Isn't there more
than this?"
THIS IS WHERE THE EXODUS STORY COMES IN....
In the most modern, progressive, intelligent civilization the
world had known to that time-- a nation that had already produced
man-made wonders like the great pyramids of Giza that were evidence of
knowledge of celestial orbits-- in that nation were several hundred
thousand men, women and children who were descendants of the Hebrew
Patriarchs. Four hundred years earlier Jacob had taken his tribe in a
time of famine into Egypt, following his son Joseph who was viceroy of
the entire land. They had been honored guests of the Pharaoh. At that
time there were a total of 72 Hebrews.
But in the intervening 400 years governments had changed, and
generations had passed and now the Egyptians had brutally dominated
the Hebrews. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were
reduced to living by their wits in the absence of God-- or so they
thought. But from time to time they raised their heads and hearts and
voices and said, "O God! Is this all there is to life?"
And so far as they knew -- nothing! Nothing happened! Day followed day, and
nothing happened.
WHAT A GREAT STORY THIS IS!!
Just as these people were praying almost in despair-- several
hundred miles to the southeast there was a solitary shepherd on the
backside of the desert near a mountain called Horeb. He looked like
any other shepherd, perhaps. He was a shepherd with a very
interesting life story. He had been a prince. He tried being a hero.
He became a fugitive.
I have no idea what was going through this
man's mind as he stood, a tiny isolated little speck of humanity in a
vast dry wasteland south of the Negev. But Moses was about to have an
encounter with God.
GOD MEETS ONE LONE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BARREN DESERT--
The man, Moses, saw a fire. It was a fire that burned and burned
and burned. Moses turned aside to see it. (Significant!) The
scripture says (4) "When the LORD saw that (Moses) turned aside..."
then Moses was confronted with Almighty God. Moses was drawn, but he
was also almost in terror. It was electrifying.
After more than 3,000 years this story has tremendous
significance. For it tells in language deeper than words can express,
to those who will listen, something about what happens when we come
into living contact with God.
THE WONDER OF GOD REACHING TO A HUMAN BEING
[All Moses could do was "draw near"...not generate the experience;
also extreme reverence of Jews for this name "YWHW" and LORD in our
OT...]
Rudolph Otto, a respected German scholar, used three Latin
adjectives to describe encounters with God in the Bible in general,
and this Burning Bush story in particular. Those three words are
tremendum, and mysterium, and fascinans.
Tremendum: Otto used the word tremendum to express three aspects
of a divine-human encounter. First, he said was (1) A sense of
awe. It is, in his words, "a quite specific kind of emotional
response, wholly distinct from that of being afraid, though it so
far resembles it that the analogy of fear may be used to throw
light upon its nature." The Scripture says "Moses hid his face
for he was afraid to look at God." Later, when God had brought
all the people to this place again they, too, were afraid and
trembled and stood at a distance.
But there is more. Tremendum means also (2) an overpowering, a
majesty-- a majestic distance-- realizing the infinite difference
between the ineffable God and our mortal humanity. The prophet
Habakkuk said: "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at
the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Daniel said, "My strength left me, and my
complexion grew pale, and I retained no strength." Both these
men stated later that they felt greatly beloved and yet they were
shaken physically and mentally and spiritually.
Finally tremendum has elements of what can only be described as
(3) sheer "energy." The "energy" is sometimes represented in
fantastic ways-- Ezekiel's wheels within wheels-- the four living
creatures of Revelation-- even the picture of the living Savior
in Revelation chapter one-- (words like Psalm 29: 5 - 9)
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire,
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voices of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, "Glory!")
"Awe" like Abram in Genesis 15 when "a horror" came over him as
God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice "Overpowering" like
Habakkuk who says, "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver
at the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Energy beyond any human-generated excitement!
[THAT IS A LONG WAY FROM BODY SURFING AT A JESUS ROCK CONCERT]
But AWE is not all when God asks us to turn aside: [Another word:]
Mysterium: Encounters with God can never be really described.
And they cannot be duplicated or summoned up at will. Ezekiel is
never ever willing to say he saw God or even God's glory-- but he
IS willing to say he saw something LIKE the glory of God:
And above the dome over their heads there was something LIKE a
throne, in appearance LIKE a sapphire, and seated above the
likeness of the throne was something that SEEMED like a human
form..." and so on.
When the Bible tells about people coming into contact with God it
never confuses this great I AM THAT I AM with the physical
setting nor does it give any glory to the humans involved. God
is not in the whirlwinds or the fire or in the burning bush or
even in the mountain or the tablets of stone. Moses does not
fast and pray until God has to do as Moses says. There is always
mystery involved when the great God reaches out to communicate
with people.
One might say God has a big problem. How does he get near to us
without on the one hand consuming us with his energy, and on the
other hand convince us that He really is interested in us if we
will listen and respond in humility and faith. There will always
be mystery.
[Finally-- and wonderfully-- there is another aspect:]
Fascinans: The final adjective Rudolph Otto uses to describe
encounters with God is fascinans, or the root word for
"fascination." There is a tremendous attraction within the human
heart for the holiness of God. For God is white hot passionate
caring LOVE. To think that someone just simply downright LOVES
you is just about the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Love" of some kind or other is the dynamic that drives most of
the dramas and novels of the world-- the concept of loving and
being loved. But no love can compare with the purity and
intensity of the LOVE that emanates from an encounter with God.
Awe. Mystery. Great fascination! Moses is awed. He covers his
face. He certainly does not understand. But what is this-- this I AM
THAT I AM finally saying to Moses?
THIS GREAT GOD CARES ABOUT PEOPLE
He is saying, to Moses,
"I have been listening to a bunch of people who are living by
their wits, and who haven't really ever thought much of Me,
except that I am "absent" from their lives. I have been hearing
them ask 'Is this all there is to life?' And I have even heard
some of them cry poor, broken prayers like, "O God, if there IS a
God-- like I have heard about in fairy tales and myths and
stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-- why don't you show up
here and help me? ' Well, Moses, I AM is going to show up! And
GUESS WHO is going to introduce ME and begin the process of
answering their prayers??"
God went on to say that the proof that He was really God would be that
right here-- right at the base of this mountain-- one day you will be
standing with those very people who are praying to Me right now-- and
together you will worship. And then, and then only, the fire
disappeared. It did not "go out." It simply was gone, and there
stood Moses all alone in the vast expanse of desert.
THERE IS A CONNECTION, OF COURSE, BETWEEN THE PEOPLE IN EGYPT ASKING
"IS THIS ALL THERE IS TO LIFE?" AND THE BURNING BUSH EXPERIENCE OF
MOSES-- DO YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE A CONNECTION OF GENUINE WORSHIP
AND GOD'S LOVE FOR PEOPLE "OUT THERE"??
A lot of things happened in the next few months to Moses and to
Egypt and the people who were slaves but were to become the people of
God. Great miracles took place, and God nearly destroyed Egypt
getting the people out and away from their old masters. But the
bottom line is this: one man met God-- Almighty God-- and obeyed Him.
When this one man invited the slaves in Egypt to follow God they
believed him, they responded to the promises of this God. And one day
the living descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stood at the
Mountain of God, and they saw the fire and they experienced tremendum,
and they experienced mysterium, and yet at the same time they knew
fascinans.
When WE think of the Exodus we think of the details of the
journey-- the parting of the sea, the manna, the water from the rock--
and that is only natural.
But really Exodus is about a God of fire and holiness and mystery
who calls people to look up and believe and to walk with Him and trust
Him and find they have never been so free and so happy. Exodus is
about being drawn out of life that goes around in circles into a life
that ascends in spirals that never, ever, ever end. Exodus is about
an invitation to fellowship with the eternal God, the I AM THAT I AM.
THE WONDER OF EXODUS IS THAT GOD WANTS TO COME NEAR
HIS PEOPLE AND NEVER, NEVER LEAVE THEM AGAIN!
So-- who are we? and where is God? Are we saying "Is THIS all?"
Can we ever see God inviting us to come nearer to Him? Will we take
time to "turn aside"??
THE MESSAGE OF EXODUS IS THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THE
TREMENDUM AND THE MYSTERIUM AND CERTAINLY THE FASCINANS OF COMING INTO
GOD'S PRESENCE-- AND THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN WALK WITH GOD AND NEVER
NEED TO LEAVE HIS FELLOWSHIP EVER AGAIN.
(Preached at Wollaston, September 1, 1996)
Exodus 3:1-10
Most of the people you meet each day, good bad or indifferent,
live by their wits in this dog-eat-dog world and never think about God
at all. If they ever do consciously think of God they probably think
in terms of restrictions and oughts and shoulds.
But at the same time most of the people we meet each day at some time or other have stopped and asked themselves the question, "Is this what life is all about?"
For when we live by our wits or not, life is full of hard places.
If we were to be brutally honest, it isn't just the most of the
people we meet that are frustrated with life at times-- and who do not
think of God most of the time. People LIKE YOU AND ME who should know
better, or who may have been taught better, or even people who in
earlier times at a youth camp somewhere or a revival meeting or a VBS
made a commitment to God find that they can live a whole day a whole
week a whole month without ever looking to God, and then one day ask
that same question, "Is this what life is all about? Isn't there more
than this?"
THIS IS WHERE THE EXODUS STORY COMES IN....
In the most modern, progressive, intelligent civilization the
world had known to that time-- a nation that had already produced
man-made wonders like the great pyramids of Giza that were evidence of
knowledge of celestial orbits-- in that nation were several hundred
thousand men, women and children who were descendants of the Hebrew
Patriarchs. Four hundred years earlier Jacob had taken his tribe in a
time of famine into Egypt, following his son Joseph who was viceroy of
the entire land. They had been honored guests of the Pharaoh. At that
time there were a total of 72 Hebrews.
But in the intervening 400 years governments had changed, and
generations had passed and now the Egyptians had brutally dominated
the Hebrews. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were
reduced to living by their wits in the absence of God-- or so they
thought. But from time to time they raised their heads and hearts and
voices and said, "O God! Is this all there is to life?"
And so far as they knew -- nothing! Nothing happened! Day followed day, and
nothing happened.
WHAT A GREAT STORY THIS IS!!
Just as these people were praying almost in despair-- several
hundred miles to the southeast there was a solitary shepherd on the
backside of the desert near a mountain called Horeb. He looked like
any other shepherd, perhaps. He was a shepherd with a very
interesting life story. He had been a prince. He tried being a hero.
He became a fugitive.
I have no idea what was going through this
man's mind as he stood, a tiny isolated little speck of humanity in a
vast dry wasteland south of the Negev. But Moses was about to have an
encounter with God.
GOD MEETS ONE LONE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BARREN DESERT--
The man, Moses, saw a fire. It was a fire that burned and burned
and burned. Moses turned aside to see it. (Significant!) The
scripture says (4) "When the LORD saw that (Moses) turned aside..."
then Moses was confronted with Almighty God. Moses was drawn, but he
was also almost in terror. It was electrifying.
After more than 3,000 years this story has tremendous
significance. For it tells in language deeper than words can express,
to those who will listen, something about what happens when we come
into living contact with God.
THE WONDER OF GOD REACHING TO A HUMAN BEING
[All Moses could do was "draw near"...not generate the experience;
also extreme reverence of Jews for this name "YWHW" and LORD in our
OT...]
Rudolph Otto, a respected German scholar, used three Latin
adjectives to describe encounters with God in the Bible in general,
and this Burning Bush story in particular. Those three words are
tremendum, and mysterium, and fascinans.
Tremendum: Otto used the word tremendum to express three aspects
of a divine-human encounter. First, he said was (1) A sense of
awe. It is, in his words, "a quite specific kind of emotional
response, wholly distinct from that of being afraid, though it so
far resembles it that the analogy of fear may be used to throw
light upon its nature." The Scripture says "Moses hid his face
for he was afraid to look at God." Later, when God had brought
all the people to this place again they, too, were afraid and
trembled and stood at a distance.
But there is more. Tremendum means also (2) an overpowering, a
majesty-- a majestic distance-- realizing the infinite difference
between the ineffable God and our mortal humanity. The prophet
Habakkuk said: "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at
the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Daniel said, "My strength left me, and my
complexion grew pale, and I retained no strength." Both these
men stated later that they felt greatly beloved and yet they were
shaken physically and mentally and spiritually.
Finally tremendum has elements of what can only be described as
(3) sheer "energy." The "energy" is sometimes represented in
fantastic ways-- Ezekiel's wheels within wheels-- the four living
creatures of Revelation-- even the picture of the living Savior
in Revelation chapter one-- (words like Psalm 29: 5 - 9)
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire,
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voices of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, "Glory!")
"Awe" like Abram in Genesis 15 when "a horror" came over him as
God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice "Overpowering" like
Habakkuk who says, "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver
at the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Energy beyond any human-generated excitement!
[THAT IS A LONG WAY FROM BODY SURFING AT A JESUS ROCK CONCERT]
But AWE is not all when God asks us to turn aside: [Another word:]
Mysterium: Encounters with God can never be really described.
And they cannot be duplicated or summoned up at will. Ezekiel is
never ever willing to say he saw God or even God's glory-- but he
IS willing to say he saw something LIKE the glory of God:
And above the dome over their heads there was something LIKE a
throne, in appearance LIKE a sapphire, and seated above the
likeness of the throne was something that SEEMED like a human
form..." and so on.
When the Bible tells about people coming into contact with God it
never confuses this great I AM THAT I AM with the physical
setting nor does it give any glory to the humans involved. God
is not in the whirlwinds or the fire or in the burning bush or
even in the mountain or the tablets of stone. Moses does not
fast and pray until God has to do as Moses says. There is always
mystery involved when the great God reaches out to communicate
with people.
One might say God has a big problem. How does he get near to us
without on the one hand consuming us with his energy, and on the
other hand convince us that He really is interested in us if we
will listen and respond in humility and faith. There will always
be mystery.
[Finally-- and wonderfully-- there is another aspect:]
Fascinans: The final adjective Rudolph Otto uses to describe
encounters with God is fascinans, or the root word for
"fascination." There is a tremendous attraction within the human
heart for the holiness of God. For God is white hot passionate
caring LOVE. To think that someone just simply downright LOVES
you is just about the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Love" of some kind or other is the dynamic that drives most of
the dramas and novels of the world-- the concept of loving and
being loved. But no love can compare with the purity and
intensity of the LOVE that emanates from an encounter with God.
Awe. Mystery. Great fascination! Moses is awed. He covers his
face. He certainly does not understand. But what is this-- this I AM
THAT I AM finally saying to Moses?
THIS GREAT GOD CARES ABOUT PEOPLE
He is saying, to Moses,
"I have been listening to a bunch of people who are living by
their wits, and who haven't really ever thought much of Me,
except that I am "absent" from their lives. I have been hearing
them ask 'Is this all there is to life?' And I have even heard
some of them cry poor, broken prayers like, "O God, if there IS a
God-- like I have heard about in fairy tales and myths and
stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-- why don't you show up
here and help me? ' Well, Moses, I AM is going to show up! And
GUESS WHO is going to introduce ME and begin the process of
answering their prayers??"
God went on to say that the proof that He was really God would be that
right here-- right at the base of this mountain-- one day you will be
standing with those very people who are praying to Me right now-- and
together you will worship. And then, and then only, the fire
disappeared. It did not "go out." It simply was gone, and there
stood Moses all alone in the vast expanse of desert.
THERE IS A CONNECTION, OF COURSE, BETWEEN THE PEOPLE IN EGYPT ASKING
"IS THIS ALL THERE IS TO LIFE?" AND THE BURNING BUSH EXPERIENCE OF
MOSES-- DO YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE A CONNECTION OF GENUINE WORSHIP
AND GOD'S LOVE FOR PEOPLE "OUT THERE"??
A lot of things happened in the next few months to Moses and to
Egypt and the people who were slaves but were to become the people of
God. Great miracles took place, and God nearly destroyed Egypt
getting the people out and away from their old masters. But the
bottom line is this: one man met God-- Almighty God-- and obeyed Him.
When this one man invited the slaves in Egypt to follow God they
believed him, they responded to the promises of this God. And one day
the living descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stood at the
Mountain of God, and they saw the fire and they experienced tremendum,
and they experienced mysterium, and yet at the same time they knew
fascinans.
When WE think of the Exodus we think of the details of the
journey-- the parting of the sea, the manna, the water from the rock--
and that is only natural.
But really Exodus is about a God of fire and holiness and mystery
who calls people to look up and believe and to walk with Him and trust
Him and find they have never been so free and so happy. Exodus is
about being drawn out of life that goes around in circles into a life
that ascends in spirals that never, ever, ever end. Exodus is about
an invitation to fellowship with the eternal God, the I AM THAT I AM.
THE WONDER OF EXODUS IS THAT GOD WANTS TO COME NEAR
HIS PEOPLE AND NEVER, NEVER LEAVE THEM AGAIN!
So-- who are we? and where is God? Are we saying "Is THIS all?"
Can we ever see God inviting us to come nearer to Him? Will we take
time to "turn aside"??
THE MESSAGE OF EXODUS IS THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THE
TREMENDUM AND THE MYSTERIUM AND CERTAINLY THE FASCINANS OF COMING INTO
GOD'S PRESENCE-- AND THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN WALK WITH GOD AND NEVER
NEED TO LEAVE HIS FELLOWSHIP EVER AGAIN.
(Preached at Wollaston, September 1, 1996)
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