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October 30, 2005
Human Word. Holy Word.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Today is Reformation Sunday. It's the day we mark the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. It's an anniversary of Martin Luther's having nailed to the church door in Wittenburg his Ninety-five Theses, or points for debate. The Protestant Reformation swept Europe, changing society, politics, economics, culture as well as religion. Our inheritance stems from John Calvin, who rose to prominence among reformers some years after Luther, in Geneva Switzerland.
Nothing was more important to Luther, Calvin and other reformers than "the Word of God." Scripture was at the heart of what they knew as "the Word of God." Not that they identified scripture with God's word in some literal way, as is the fashion among present-day fundamentalists. They believed that it was through scripture that we could know God's word to us. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, is the one to whom scripture bears witness. In bearing witness to Christ, scripture becomes "the word of God." It was through preaching based on scripture that Christ was re-presented to believers and proclaimed to the world. Ever since, preaching has been a hallmark of the Protestant movement. It became what the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, was and is to Roman Catholics.
Paul contrasts God's word with a "human word." God's word is what Thessalonians heard from Paul. Paul was a very human person. How is it that this very human person could believe he was conveying to people God's word? How could what he said be anything other than a very "human word?"
I believe what Paul means by a "human word" is a word that is finally about us, and not about God in Christ. A human word comes from what we know based on our own experience, from what we can imagine and conceive, and is limited to that experience. God's word is about Christ and brings us to a whole new and different experience, greater and deeper than anything. It challenges our experience to realize that there's more to God than we experience, greater than we might imagine or conceive.
I suppose some people come to worship believing that the sermon they will hear is simply the opinion of the preacher for the day. Perhaps what makes a sermon "inspirational" to them is the way in which the preacher preaches. If it's powerfully, eloquently and engagingly presented then it's "good." If otherwise, it's not so good. Even bad. Dull. Boring. For them, that's entertainment. Whether it conveys some truth is another matter. Never mind that the preacher may believe he or she is compelled to tell God's truth when preaching. Were Paul and the reformers who took him to heart on to something when they made the proclamation of the "word of God" central, or were they all just blowing smoke?
So what is the "word of God" and how's it different from a merely "human word?" Paul says God's word is "received," "heard" and "accepted." And that it's at "work" in believers. The "word of God" is "received." Nowadays the vogue is to urge people to look inward, into themselves, to learn the secrets that will bring fulfillment, wholeness, well-being.
Whatever Paul may think of such inwardness, the "word of God" is "received." It comes to us from outside us, beyond us. The Hawkeye's best pass receiver does not have the football with him when he leaves the line of scrimmage. He "receives" the pass from the quarterback. It comes to him from someone else. God's word is not something we make, discover, or uncover within ourselves. It comes to us. It comes to us from another. Where does that other get that "word of God" that is passed on to us, that we "receive?"
The quarterback does not invent the football, anymore than a preacher invents the "word of God." The quarterback gets the football from someone else. The football is a given. Without the football there is no game. Preachers get the gospel they pass on from scripture. Scripture is a "given." Without scripture there is really nothing to be said.
The clear understanding of John Calvin and the reformers was that sermons are based on scripture. That's what the preacher is passing on: an interpretation of scripture, the Bible of the Old and New Testaments. The quarterback may pass badly, throw incompletions, even be intercepted. Likewise a preacher may work with the gospel badly, but the gospel is what the preacher has to work with. Nothing else.
What's so special about scripture? True, much of it is beautiful to read, but on the other hand, a lot of it is hard to understand. Why not turn to something that is both beautiful and readily understood? Where else do we know about Jesus Christ than from scripture? Everything that can truthfully be said about Jesus Christ has its basis in scripture. The truth of what is said of Jesus Christ must be measured by what scripture tells us of him. Presbyterians believe that scripture is the only authoritative witness to Christ. The word of God comes to us to be received from scripture and those who interpret scripture. We receive it by hearing.
"Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?" Those cellular phone ads are a parable of sorts. Hearing is a matter of making a connection with what's said. The quarterback may pass the ball perfectly, but the intended receiver will not get it unless he catches it. How are we able to "hear" God's word? "I can't hear you," may be literally true because a speaker is out of range, or it may be someone telling another that they just don't want to listen to what's being said.
How do we get in "range" of God's word? Coming to worship is a good start. Wherever else we may hear or believe we hear God's word, worship on Sunday morning is where we expect to hear it. Once we're in range how do we tune in and listen?
"For most of my life," a church member told me, "I've read the Bible and listened to it being read at church, but it made no sense to me. Then, one day, I got it. It began making sense. I made the connection. I don't know exactly how it happened, but it did. Not that I understand everything I hear from scripture, but at least it's not opaque any more. I glimpse the light." It's that way for lots of people: the penny drops; shingles fall from our eyes; the fog lifts; we get it. Or, as Yogi Berra might put it: you can hear a lot just by listening. It's a God-thing.
This God-thing Christians have long known is the work of God's Holy Spirit. Without going into details, let's just say that the Holy Spirit is God's way of making things work. Some quarterbacks have their favorite receivers, and pass to them often. There's a certain chemistry between passer and receiver. The Holy Spirit is what enables us to make connections, gets us to understand "God's word."
I've heard that most football teams prefer to play games at their home stadium. The home-town crowd makes a big difference in the "spirit" at work in the game. The power of the home-town crowd "inspires" the home team to do better than they might otherwise. Indeed, the home team wants to do better in front of the home-town crowd. The home-town fans can also intimidate the opposing the team. The power of the spirit of the home-town crowd is a lot more effective than painting dressing rooms pink. The home crowd are a powerful presence.
In worship, in God's presence, God's Holy Spirit is at work. The Spirit draws us out of ourselves, makes us alert to things we might otherwise miss or ignore, helps us tune in to what is being said and sung and done. The power of the football home crowd is dispensed as the crowd disperses. God doesn't go away. The power of the Holy Spirit abides. The power of the Holy Spirit makes people new, and in ways we never imagined.
Not only is God's word heard and received. It is accepted. When you get a notice in your mail box that you have a piece of "special delivery" mail, before you can take it away, you have to sign for it. You have to accept it. Accepting God's word is believing it. We sign on when we believe.
In the Presbyterian church pastors and sessions share responsibility for worship. The Session sets the order; the pastor provides the content. Nothing among Presbyterians is more highly prized than the freedom of the pulpit, the freedom and responsibility of seeking and speaking God's truth.
I know a church session that tried to get their minister to sign away his responsibility and freedom in the pulpit. He'd made points objecting to the war the President's got us in. They didn't like it. They tried to make him agree not to mention such things anymore. Rather than sacrifice the freedom and responsibility of the pulpit the pastor left. What would he have been worth to them if he had given in? Would you want a preacher who tells you only what you want to hear?
On the other side, I know of one church leader—who should know better—who wrote the pastor complaining that he was using the pulpit as a "bully pulpit" and objected to his, as it was put, "voicing your own opinions as truth . . . ." Telling the truth is what proclaiming God's word is all about. If you're not seeking to do that you're not only wasting everybody's time, you're dishonoring the pulpit.
When my brother and I were young my mother cautioned us about staying in the shallow end of the pool until we learned to swim. Makes me think of the story from Joshua, where Joshua famously puts a choice to the Israelites: make a choice between the Lord and idols. As for himself and his household, they're siding with the Lord. Joshua doesn't want people to make their choice unawares. They should know if they go with the Lord, they're moving into deep things. ". . . Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." (Joshua 24:19-20, NRSV) Joshua's notion of God is some three-thousand years old. Maybe we think we've learned better, that we've found a kinder, gentler God. Those who don't know should: God can play rough, and sometimes does. That gets us into the deep end of the pool. The whole point of getting in the pool is to swim. We may begin in the shallow end. But the idea is to learn to swim. It's when we're in over our heads is a good time to realize that God's word is at work with us and in us.
You've heard, received and accepted God's word. Now, you've gotten out of the pool and you're not just leaving, you're being "sent." You and your life become the gospel message, echoing scripture, presenting Christ to others. Those who've been addressed by God's word, are also being stamped in the image of Christ. It's no use being addressed and stamped and then not be sent. The address I'm sent to is "my neighbor," care of "the next person" I meet. We're being sent into the world, into our everyday lives, to live as people who have heard, received and accepted God's word.
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First Presbyterian
Church of Cedar Rapids
310 Fifth Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org
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