Sermon - January 23, 2010
Text: Luke 4:18-19
23 January 2010
Topic: THE WORD
Our congregation’s mission is “To Know, To Live, and to Share God’s Word.” It seems to me pretty important for us to then come to a common understanding of what this Word of God is all about.
I am in the third part of a sermon series on what our liturgy is all about, why we do what we do in our worship on a Sunday morning. My first sermon explained that liturgy can be used for spiritual formation. My second sermon last week was on the first part of what we do on a Sunday morning, namely, to gather, to focus our corporate attention on Christ and to ready ourselves for what follows.
Once again, if you look at the bulletin extension with the Order of Worship, you will see the underlined portions that read, In worship we gather to hear God’s Word, receive God’s Meal, and are sent to share God’s Word. Today’s sermon is on Hearing God’s Word.
Two items I want to address before I speak about the subject of Hearing God’s Word: First, in John’s gospel, he speaks of the Word – the Greek word Logos – as being among us. “In the beginning was the Word—Logos, and the Word—Logos became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:1,14) This is John’s way of saying that Christ was from the beginning and is with us now.
It is also a way of saying that the Word—Logos is something that is not far away and distant, but close and even in our face at times. The Word is not just words printed on a page but a LIVING WORD that comes to us in a whole lot of ways, breaking into our lives , into our history, shattering old ways of living, and creating NEW LIFE, NEW VALUES, and NEW COMMITMENT.
In the LIVING WORD, through Christ, God woos us, pleads with us and says, “I love you, I forgive you, I want you to trust me. Enter the joy of my kingdom.” When we hear this call, we are hearing THE LIVING WORD of God that leads to discipleship. (cf. Baptized We Live, Erlander, p.11-12)
Secondly I want to make a simple distinction between “hearing” and “listening.” Hearing is the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If we are not hearing-impaired, hearing happens whenever there is sound to be heard, whatever that sound is.
Listening, however, is something we consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that our brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to learning. And learning leads to action in our own lives, confession, re-alignment of our life, re-commitment to a Christ-centered life, and care and comfort toward those around us.
In our Order of Worship, you will see that we give listeners many different options for hearing the Word of God each week. Following a three cycle of readings shaped by an ecumenical community, we begin with an Old Testament reading, usually connected to, or which complements, the gospel reading which comes later.
After the first reading is a psalm, sometimes sung, but mostly read responsively, which is a response to, and complementary to, the Old Testament reading.
Then comes a reading from one of the epistles, one of St. Paul’s letters or some other portion of the New Testament that helps us understand how the earliest church believers lived and died in the faith.
This is followed by the gospel which comes to us in that same three year cycle, with Year A’s readings from Matthew, Year B from Mark, and Year C from Luke. We are currently in Year C. John’s gospel is read at various times throughout each of the three year cycles.
Those who compiled the lectionary, that’s the word used to describe what lessons from scripture we read each week in our worship, have sought to bring as much coherence to Bible readings as can be achieved with such a short amount of time on a Sunday morning. A mere fraction of the Bible is read on Sunday mornings. That’s why it is important to see that the reading and study of Holy Scripture happens not just on a Sunday morning but throughout the weeks and years of our lives.
On most Sundays, the readings from scripture take place in our church from the pulpit, a high and exalted place from which to hear the Word of God read. The lessons are read by lay members of the congregation, by old and young, by men and women. Traditionally, the gospel is read by the pastor.
All of these readings could be presented in dramatic form. In fact, during the middle ages, when a vast majority of people were illiterate, the scripture readings were presented in the form of skits with lots of props and story-telling genius.
Today, even though most of us can read, we live in visual age which requires us to adapt our ways of communicating the Word. This is why many of today’s churches use power-point presentations of scripture with projections on a screen in church. We do this on Christmas Eve, with lessons and sermons visually enhanced by pictures and images on the wall behind me.
The sermon, which I am doing right now, is now being given from this place, on the same level as you. Indeed, at this level, we all share in the common work of understanding the meaning of God’s Word to us on this day. The sermon is intended to be that time when God’s Word is explained and applied to our daily lives. It is sometimes interactive, and helps when people are actively listening, and not just hearing.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus gave one of the shortest sermons I’ve ever heard. It was one statement. First Jesus read the scripture text for his sermon, a text from Isaiah, which said, “The Lord’s Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers, and to say, `This is the year the Lord has chosen.’ “ He then sat down, which is what Hebrew preachers did, and gave his sermon. This is what he said, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.” (Luke 4:18-19, 21 CEV) That was it. And the people had to figure out the rest.
Sermons are not intended to tell us everything there is to know, but to prod us into probing deeper into God’s intent for ourselves and for our community of faith.
In our congregation, we also include a children’s sermon at each every service. We do this because children need a special word, a word on a level they will understand and grow with. It is never just a cute follow-up to the theme for the day, but always intended to help the youngest among us grow in the faith along with us.
The WORD part of the service also includes a Hymn of the Day which highlights the theme of the day, and is yet another way of interpreting and explaining the scriptures that have been laid before us on any given Sunday.
We respond to the proclamation of the Word by confessing what we believe in the words of one of the ancient creeds of the church. And we conclude this portion of the service with prayers, prayers that can be written by members of the congregation, or even freely offered from everyone in the congregation.
Finally, in a transition moment between the WORD and the MEAL, we share the peace of Christ with those around us, in response to the Word and in preparation for the meal that is to come.
Our congregation’s mission is “To Know, To Live, and to Share God’s Word.” We have to hear and learn God’s Word in order for us to know it, live it and share it. AMEN