Hebrews 2:1-10
I am always amused by this particular passage in our reading from Hebrews today. “Now God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them?’” (Hebrews 2:5-6). Frankly it sounds like something I would say, especially if I was feeling too lazy to confirm that as a quote from Psalm 8:4. Recently in a sermon I mistakenly referred to Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” as “The Road Less Traveled.” I was sure I had the right title, so sure that I didn’t take the 30 seconds necessary to verify it on Google. Fortunately, the English teachers in my congregation were gentle in their comments.
The writer of Hebrews did not have the luxury of Google, of course, and may not have been sure of the exact source. But no matter! The verse quoted is apt and to the point, which I think helps to highlight an important aspect of scripture’s power. Scripture does not gain its authority from our mastery of it. This is God’s word; it comes to us with its authority already in tact, its relevance already assured. This is why we wrestle with and allow ourselves to be engaged by passages like those from Hebrews and the book of Psalms, because it is there that we find God’s word for us and for the world. A too-easy comfort with such verses, to me, indicates an unwillingness to be fully impacted by what God is saying. Scripture is hard work, it is long study, it is on-going conversations, it is prayer and reflection, it is honest disagreement and an open examination of preconceived notions. It stands up to and rewards our toughest questions with resilience and strength.
The writer of Hebrews had a message for God’s people. So did the psalmist. But the power of their words comes from God’s Spirit working in and through them. A breezy familiarity with scripture keeps us from appreciating the wondrous power at work there. To me it is far more important to honestly wrestle with words of scripture than to pass by them quickly or with blasé familiarity.
Prayer: Lord, give us ears to hear your word even as we wrestle with its meaning for our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Busy Work On The Mountain Top
Mark 9:2-13
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recounted in Mark’s gospel gives us quit a bit to ponder. There is the lofty yet lonely location in which the events take place and the isolation of the characters involved who are eventually even shrouded by clouds. The setting of this event seems very intentional and important. There are also the various voices that speak in the passage, actually or by inference. Jesus, God, Peter, Moses, and Elijah are each quoted to the reader or are seen by others to be speaking. Words obviously play a major role in this story which is appropriate as Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. But today I’m struck by this section of the text: “And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified” (Mark 9:4-6). All that Peter could think about at the appearance of Moses and Elijah was a building project of sorts, essentially busy work.
Peter’s fear is understandable, but there was really no reason for the three disciples to build tents or booths for Jesus and the other. In fact, Peter’s offer reminds me of the old cliché of sending someone to boil water just as a women goes into labor. It’s the sort of thing you send someone to do so that they will be out of the way. But Peter’s offer also raises an interesting question for us to consider. Are there times when our involvement in the life and work of the church amounts to no more than “busy work,” meaningless actions carried out for no real purpose? How often do we offer to build booths when we should pay attention to what is going on, to events we’ve been blessed to witness, opportunities we’ve been given to see the word of God unfolding in our midst? Are there times when we would rather tend to the day to day stuff of organization or institution when what we should be doing is touching lives by sharing ourselves? I know how easy it is to let myself get lost behind a pile of work. I also know how easy it is to miss out on real opportunities to minister.
Peter was frightened, and there is much to frighten us today as well. Peter wanted to do something – anything – rather than absorb what he was seeing. Finally the voice of God called him and the others back to the need to listen and to be involved in what Jesus was saying and doing. Day to day the voice of God calls us as well. Our response must be to stop with the busy work, and to get busy doing the real work of the coming reign.
Prayer: Lord God, guide us in our living that we may set aside that which would distract us from your will. Help us instead to serve you and to respond to your call in all we do. In Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.
The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus as recounted in Mark’s gospel gives us quit a bit to ponder. There is the lofty yet lonely location in which the events take place and the isolation of the characters involved who are eventually even shrouded by clouds. The setting of this event seems very intentional and important. There are also the various voices that speak in the passage, actually or by inference. Jesus, God, Peter, Moses, and Elijah are each quoted to the reader or are seen by others to be speaking. Words obviously play a major role in this story which is appropriate as Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. But today I’m struck by this section of the text: “And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified” (Mark 9:4-6). All that Peter could think about at the appearance of Moses and Elijah was a building project of sorts, essentially busy work.
Peter’s fear is understandable, but there was really no reason for the three disciples to build tents or booths for Jesus and the other. In fact, Peter’s offer reminds me of the old cliché of sending someone to boil water just as a women goes into labor. It’s the sort of thing you send someone to do so that they will be out of the way. But Peter’s offer also raises an interesting question for us to consider. Are there times when our involvement in the life and work of the church amounts to no more than “busy work,” meaningless actions carried out for no real purpose? How often do we offer to build booths when we should pay attention to what is going on, to events we’ve been blessed to witness, opportunities we’ve been given to see the word of God unfolding in our midst? Are there times when we would rather tend to the day to day stuff of organization or institution when what we should be doing is touching lives by sharing ourselves? I know how easy it is to let myself get lost behind a pile of work. I also know how easy it is to miss out on real opportunities to minister.
Peter was frightened, and there is much to frighten us today as well. Peter wanted to do something – anything – rather than absorb what he was seeing. Finally the voice of God called him and the others back to the need to listen and to be involved in what Jesus was saying and doing. Day to day the voice of God calls us as well. Our response must be to stop with the busy work, and to get busy doing the real work of the coming reign.
Prayer: Lord God, guide us in our living that we may set aside that which would distract us from your will. Help us instead to serve you and to respond to your call in all we do. In Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
A Word to the Wise
Isaiah 59:15b-21
Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “You took the words right out of my mouth.” It means that someone has said what you were thinking but had not had time to express for yourself. Our reading from Isaiah today offers the opposite perspective, literally along the lines of, “You put the words right into my mouth,” and God is the one doing the putting. “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children's children, says the Lord, from now on and forever” (Isaiah 59:21). What does it mean for God to put words in our mouths? And what does it mean that these words will not depart the mouths of three or more generations of God’s people? Good questions.
I think of it this way, that there are many positions we might take in life on a variety of issues, a number of perspectives we might embrace and then share with others. Like quasi celebrity endorsers, we might pass along all types of information to our friends and our neighbors, and all manner of rumors or pieces of gossip sometimes stated as fact. According to the prophet, however, God’s word is to become our word, God’s glory the subject of our speaking, God’s actions the topic of our conversations. The days are coming when we, our children, and our children’s children, will speak the truth of God’s love and be known by that speaking and no other.
The charge to speak God’s word, of course, removes from us the opportunity to share the half-truths and hurtful innuendos that pass for communication in much of our world. I suspect were this to come to pass in a literal sense that Twitter and Facebook would become vastly different places and that reality TV would die a quick and ignoble death. What replaced them would not be the stodginess of what too often passes for religious talk, but the grace-filled and life-giving words of hope and peace that God has always used to create and to restore. Here’s hoping.
Prayer: Lord, may we learn to speak your truth in all we do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “You took the words right out of my mouth.” It means that someone has said what you were thinking but had not had time to express for yourself. Our reading from Isaiah today offers the opposite perspective, literally along the lines of, “You put the words right into my mouth,” and God is the one doing the putting. “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children's children, says the Lord, from now on and forever” (Isaiah 59:21). What does it mean for God to put words in our mouths? And what does it mean that these words will not depart the mouths of three or more generations of God’s people? Good questions.
I think of it this way, that there are many positions we might take in life on a variety of issues, a number of perspectives we might embrace and then share with others. Like quasi celebrity endorsers, we might pass along all types of information to our friends and our neighbors, and all manner of rumors or pieces of gossip sometimes stated as fact. According to the prophet, however, God’s word is to become our word, God’s glory the subject of our speaking, God’s actions the topic of our conversations. The days are coming when we, our children, and our children’s children, will speak the truth of God’s love and be known by that speaking and no other.
The charge to speak God’s word, of course, removes from us the opportunity to share the half-truths and hurtful innuendos that pass for communication in much of our world. I suspect were this to come to pass in a literal sense that Twitter and Facebook would become vastly different places and that reality TV would die a quick and ignoble death. What replaced them would not be the stodginess of what too often passes for religious talk, but the grace-filled and life-giving words of hope and peace that God has always used to create and to restore. Here’s hoping.
Prayer: Lord, may we learn to speak your truth in all we do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Don’t Be Offended
Luke 7:18-35
In our passage from Luke’s gospel for today we read, “And (Jesus) answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me’” (Luke 7:22-23). This is a curious list of attributes that Jesus gives as evidence of his identity. Not the first several, of course. Healing the blind, the lame, those with leprosy, the deaf; raising the dead; bringing good news to the poor; all of these make sense. But what does it mean when Jesus blesses those who are not offended by him?
If we reflect back over earlier sections of Luke we may recall events in 4:18-19 where Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah as a means of inaugurating his ministry. There is some overlap in the sections. Both refer to healing the blind in particular, and to good news for the poor. These passages seem to serve the same purpose. But as a result of his comments in chapter 4, Jesus finds himself driven out of town and threatened with stoning (vv. 29-30). Why? Apparently the crowd that day had been offended by his words. Now, a bit further on in the gospel, John’s disciples ask Jesus to make his identity clear. Jesus points to the work he is doing but makes the additional comment that those who are willing to accept him will be blessed.
Are we offended by Jesus? Does he say and do things that we’d rather he didn’t? Does he push us in uncomfortable directions? In all honesty, if Jesus doesn’t fluster us it probably means we aren’t paying attention. But when we do listen, and when we are willing to hear Jesus’ words as grace and not as an inconvenience, we will find ourselves blessed by the encounter.
Prayer: O God, open our hearts to your word that we may become what you intend us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
In our passage from Luke’s gospel for today we read, “And (Jesus) answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me’” (Luke 7:22-23). This is a curious list of attributes that Jesus gives as evidence of his identity. Not the first several, of course. Healing the blind, the lame, those with leprosy, the deaf; raising the dead; bringing good news to the poor; all of these make sense. But what does it mean when Jesus blesses those who are not offended by him?
If we reflect back over earlier sections of Luke we may recall events in 4:18-19 where Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah as a means of inaugurating his ministry. There is some overlap in the sections. Both refer to healing the blind in particular, and to good news for the poor. These passages seem to serve the same purpose. But as a result of his comments in chapter 4, Jesus finds himself driven out of town and threatened with stoning (vv. 29-30). Why? Apparently the crowd that day had been offended by his words. Now, a bit further on in the gospel, John’s disciples ask Jesus to make his identity clear. Jesus points to the work he is doing but makes the additional comment that those who are willing to accept him will be blessed.
Are we offended by Jesus? Does he say and do things that we’d rather he didn’t? Does he push us in uncomfortable directions? In all honesty, if Jesus doesn’t fluster us it probably means we aren’t paying attention. But when we do listen, and when we are willing to hear Jesus’ words as grace and not as an inconvenience, we will find ourselves blessed by the encounter.
Prayer: O God, open our hearts to your word that we may become what you intend us to be. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
God Has a Name For That
Hosea 7:8-16
In the span of nine verses, God, through the voice of the prophet Hosea, refers to the people of Israel in the most unflattering of terms. “Ephraim is a cake not turned” (v. 8), “has become like a dove, silly and without sense” (v. 11), and has “become like a defective bow” (v. 16). Any of these three descriptions alone would bad enough, but taken together they make for a resounding condemnation. “A cake not turned” sounds very like the contemporary expression “half baked,” which refers to being unprepared or unaware. In scripture the dove is normally a positive sign (think of Noah’s Ark and Jesus’ baptism), but here the dove is characterized as foolish and misguided. A defective bow, of course, would cause harm to the one using it and would not be worth keeping. These are by no means terms of endearment. God is perplexed and angry at the failure of God’s people to honor the covenant and to follow the law, and God has something to say about it.
What can we learn from this passage? For one thing, we are reminded that God’s love, while steadfast and abiding, is not blind. God sees what is going on and is quick to express displeasure. Grace and judgment are two sides of the same divine coin. But it is also helpful to remember what it true of all such prophetic messages. God could have simply walked away, leaving us as to flounder under the weight of our sin. But instead, God keeps the conversation going. Yes God speaks with judgment, but God speaks, God communicates, God’s word is active, and in Jesus Christ that very Word became flesh offering redemption to all who would receive him. So, as silly and misguided as we are, God continues to love us and to guide us in mercy and grace. This is why we are called God’s people.
Prayer: Almighty God, bless your people with forgiveness and with the courage to live into your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
In the span of nine verses, God, through the voice of the prophet Hosea, refers to the people of Israel in the most unflattering of terms. “Ephraim is a cake not turned” (v. 8), “has become like a dove, silly and without sense” (v. 11), and has “become like a defective bow” (v. 16). Any of these three descriptions alone would bad enough, but taken together they make for a resounding condemnation. “A cake not turned” sounds very like the contemporary expression “half baked,” which refers to being unprepared or unaware. In scripture the dove is normally a positive sign (think of Noah’s Ark and Jesus’ baptism), but here the dove is characterized as foolish and misguided. A defective bow, of course, would cause harm to the one using it and would not be worth keeping. These are by no means terms of endearment. God is perplexed and angry at the failure of God’s people to honor the covenant and to follow the law, and God has something to say about it.
What can we learn from this passage? For one thing, we are reminded that God’s love, while steadfast and abiding, is not blind. God sees what is going on and is quick to express displeasure. Grace and judgment are two sides of the same divine coin. But it is also helpful to remember what it true of all such prophetic messages. God could have simply walked away, leaving us as to flounder under the weight of our sin. But instead, God keeps the conversation going. Yes God speaks with judgment, but God speaks, God communicates, God’s word is active, and in Jesus Christ that very Word became flesh offering redemption to all who would receive him. So, as silly and misguided as we are, God continues to love us and to guide us in mercy and grace. This is why we are called God’s people.
Prayer: Almighty God, bless your people with forgiveness and with the courage to live into your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Don’t You Get It?
Nehemiah 7:73b-8:3, 5-18
What effect does the word of God have on you? I know that there are passages of scripture that force us to deal with our failings, that remind us that we are not who God created us to be. But taken as a whole the Bible is a story of good news, the very best of news in fact. God’s love and mercy are there for us and God has never given up on God’s people. A small reminder of this comes from our Old Testament reading this morning. “And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them” (Nehemiah 8:12).
When the people understood the word that was read to them their reaction was one of great joy. Yes, there are disturbing images in scripture, and yes there are times for sorrow and remorse, but once we understand what we are reading we will see that God remains closely connected to us and concerned for us. Jesus Christ is the fullest example of God’s love and grace. And though the people of Nehemiah’s time knew nothing of Jesus, they could still see that God was at work in the world and in their lives. They would never walk alone.
When you encounter scripture, when you begin to understand God’s word, what effect does it have on you? If it fills you with joy, with the warmth of God’s abiding grace, then I suspect you are beginning to see what it’s all about.
Prayer: Lord, we praise you this day for the good news of all you have done for us and through us. In Jesus name. Amen.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Biblical Slavery?
Titus 2:1-15
Any Christian who takes the faith seriously must somehow come to terms with the words of Titus regarding slavery. “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters,” we read, “and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to answer back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:9-10). This certainly sounds like a justification for slavery, and it was one of the passages used by otherwise godly people in the southern United States to maintain the practice into the 1860’s.
Was the writer of Titus really advocating bondage? Personally I find it difficult to tell. And my biggest fear is resorting to rationalization to somehow remove this stigma from the Bible. Slavery is more than wrong, it is evil, whether in the homes of wealthy Romans, on the plantations of North America, or in the work camps of the Third Reich. Even if most of the Bible was written at times when slavery was universally accepted, it is still evil. But there it is: “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters…” that they may be “an ornament to the doctrine of God.” It sounds as though God has established slavery.
This is one reason why it is so very, very important to deal with scripture continually, to challenge it and to question it and to wrestle with it. If it really is what we claim it to be, the inspired word of God, then we aren’t going to break it. Indeed, to accept scripture uncritically is a disservice to God and a form of disrespect to God’s word. In the past taking the Bible too lightly has lead us to accept slavery as a divine “doctrine.” What forms of subjugation do we tolerate today because we have not struggled with scripture well enough to grasp its true meaning?
If your only exposure to scripture is a weekly sermon, Sunday School class, and this blog, that’s not enough. God’s words deserve to be ever before us, continually on our minds, so that through prayer and study we may come to better understand God’s will for us and our world. I invite you to join in the effort.
Prayer: Lord, may we find the courage to confront your word, and likewise be confronted by it, that we may better know your will for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Friday, February 4, 2011
A Word About THE Word
Isaiah 55:1-13
Mark 9:2-13
I like to talk. Ask anyone who knows me and I’m sure they will agree. But that doesn’t mean that everything I say is important. My words—like anyone else’s—vary in meaning and purpose. We all say a lot of things in the course of a day that are less that significant. Not so with God. When God speaks it is for a reason. “[My word] shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). When God speaks, things happen according to God’s will. The power of God’s word is a common motif in scripture, of course. From the very beginning, for example, God speaks and all creation comes into being (Genesis 1:1ff). In the New Testament John’s gospel sees the creative power of God’s word incarnated in Jesus Christ (John 1:1f).
In our gospel reading or today all of this seems to come together as the voice of God is heard on the mountain saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him” (Mark 9:7). Of course this is not the first time we’ve heard God speak in Mark. A voice from heaven is also heard at Jesus’ baptism saying very much the same thing: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (1:11). The point is that when the word of God—God’s voice, God’s speech—intersects with the Word of God—God’s Son, Jesus Christ—we should take note. It’s like a giant flashing billboard that reads, “Hey! Pay attention! This is important!”
If we do pay attention we will learn what the disciples seem so slow to comprehend. That Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, set apart for God’s will. That though he will suffer, that very suffering will ultimately reveal his glory, and in his glory we find our hope and salvation. That’s a lot of meaning packed into just a few words, but when God speaks, things like that happen. Are we listening?
Prayer: Lord, help us to hear your word and to live according to your will as disciples of your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Mission Possible
Isaiah 29:9-24
Luke 1:26-38
I wonder how seriously most of us take the words of the angel to Mary: “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). We might pass them off as a sort of catchphrase, an advertising slogan like “No one beats our prices, no one!” Or we might consider them on a par with the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team and their amazing consecutive wins streak. How do they do that? we ask before moving on to another topic. Or we might go so far as to confine God’s works to a Star Wars-like domain, “long ago in a galaxy far away.” Even at Christmas time, the season of miracles, we find the angel’s words better suited for pageants or services of lessons and carols than for “real life.” So perhaps one of the great challenges of being God’s people is accepting the them as bedrock truth, and then repeating them with a straight face.
Our reading from Isaiah today offers this bit of insight: “All those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction” (Isaiah 29:24). I’ve never thought of it in these terms before, but perhaps the prophet is speaking as much to you and me as to anyone else. Maybe our jaded view of things, our hesitancy to accept God’s actions as exactly what they claim to be is the erring in spirit, the grumbling that God corrects with understanding and instruction. Personally, I need a little instructing and understanding this time of year. I need my heart opened to allow God’s truth to come in. I need my very human cynicism blasted away so that the birth of Immanuel—God with us can touch me once again and give me the hope I need for the living of these days. Maybe you do as well. If so, remember the good news, that nothing is impossible with God.
Prayer: God of the miraculous, make yourself known to us so that we may live more closely attuned to your will, at Christmas and throughout the year. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Language of God
Zephaniah 3:8-13
“What are words for, when no one listens anymore?” Those lyrics, from an ‘80’s pop song, seem apt in light of today’s passage from Zephaniah. Our world is full of words, most of which are dubious: marketing, politics, gossip, hate speech, crudeness, angry rhetoric, which flood our lives from all directions. We can’t possibly take them all in, and yet they do so much damage. Mercifully the prophet envisions a day when human language will be changed into something different.
“At that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord” (Zephaniah 3:9). Frankly, the implications of this verse are a little overwhelming. For one thing it was God who first divided human speech at Babel (Genesis 11:7-9). Now God promises to reunite humanity in a common tongue, one that is pure and suitable for praising God. This “pure speech” echoes the work of God in many ways. Creation was brought into being by God’s speech, by God’s word covenants were made, prophets were called, and the law was established. Ultimately, according to John’s gospel, the Word of God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14), and on Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave power to the apostles to speak in a way that the world could understand (Acts 2) and the church was born.
Today there are whispers of God’s word that can be found, the “pure speech” that the prophet foretold. It is heard when God is truly praised, when lives are truly enriched, when the Spirit makes plain some aspect of God’s will. Those of us who dare to preach strive to find bits of pure speech to share, and on occasion I’m sure we get close, but not always. The church mediates the sacraments as reminders of God’s word, but even here we fall short. The world’s harsh syllables still creep under the doors and compete for our attention. And all of us, without exception, are drawn away from God’s will at some time or other.
What limitless joy we will experience when our language is made pure and the world offers its praise to God. In the mean time (and perhaps the word “mean” is very appropriate here) we must do our best to resist the cacophony that the world offers and seek ways to listen for God’s pure tone, that we may learn what it means to speak in a way that really makes a difference.
Prayer: God, give us the words to say that we may serve you and the strength to resist the harsh divisiveness all around us. In the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“What are words for, when no one listens anymore?” Those lyrics, from an ‘80’s pop song, seem apt in light of today’s passage from Zephaniah. Our world is full of words, most of which are dubious: marketing, politics, gossip, hate speech, crudeness, angry rhetoric, which flood our lives from all directions. We can’t possibly take them all in, and yet they do so much damage. Mercifully the prophet envisions a day when human language will be changed into something different.
“At that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord” (Zephaniah 3:9). Frankly, the implications of this verse are a little overwhelming. For one thing it was God who first divided human speech at Babel (Genesis 11:7-9). Now God promises to reunite humanity in a common tongue, one that is pure and suitable for praising God. This “pure speech” echoes the work of God in many ways. Creation was brought into being by God’s speech, by God’s word covenants were made, prophets were called, and the law was established. Ultimately, according to John’s gospel, the Word of God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14), and on Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave power to the apostles to speak in a way that the world could understand (Acts 2) and the church was born.
Today there are whispers of God’s word that can be found, the “pure speech” that the prophet foretold. It is heard when God is truly praised, when lives are truly enriched, when the Spirit makes plain some aspect of God’s will. Those of us who dare to preach strive to find bits of pure speech to share, and on occasion I’m sure we get close, but not always. The church mediates the sacraments as reminders of God’s word, but even here we fall short. The world’s harsh syllables still creep under the doors and compete for our attention. And all of us, without exception, are drawn away from God’s will at some time or other.
What limitless joy we will experience when our language is made pure and the world offers its praise to God. In the mean time (and perhaps the word “mean” is very appropriate here) we must do our best to resist the cacophony that the world offers and seek ways to listen for God’s pure tone, that we may learn what it means to speak in a way that really makes a difference.
Prayer: God, give us the words to say that we may serve you and the strength to resist the harsh divisiveness all around us. In the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)