Reading the Word with heart and mind

Pentecost 8 year B 12 Sermon Ephesians 2:11-22

Now listen again to Paul’s words…
with your heart and your mind

With Jesus…the very Word of God made flesh as the
cornerstone…we are joined together
and we grow into a holy temple…built spiritually
into a dwelling place for God.  [pause]

And as we learned last week…the Bible is all about
human life… ‘with God’…
and how God makes life with God

We heard why Jesus was given the name Immanuel …
which means God with us…because in Jesus
God’s everlasting purpose was revealed in the flesh…
that we who are made in the image of God…

should in every way be a dwelling place…for God.
That’s you and I together… as the Body of Christ…

From Genesis to Revelation we see how God’s been with us all along…from creation to rebellion and 

redemption.
And last week in part one of this series…
we saw when we step back from scripture’s many parts…
we have a new perspective…
when we step we can see the unity of the whole… 

revealed in a grand mosaic…
of the with God life…hovering over the waters of creation and incarnate in the person of the Christ…

promising us…. ‘I am with you.’

and asking us

 ‘will you be with me?’

And once we step back…to view the Bible on this grand scale what we have isn’t only human story tellers and poets
but a place for us…to meet…to be with…
the divine author of all things.
And with that in mind...we learned to approach scripture

Expectantly 

Attentively

And above all humbly

Expecting God to meet us there. Expecting God to breathe a word into our lives. Attentively… searching 

the Bible’s stories and themes …and with humility…
because an encounter with the living God… is holy ground.

And also last week we practiced together…the spiritual discipline of divine reading…praying for God’s word 

to us in Scripture… reading out loud…then silently…
noticing what words and phrases seem rise to our attention.

Jesus confirmed the greatest commandment of life with God …that we’re to love God with all our hearts 

and all our minds and all our strength… so today in part two we learn how to read the Bible this way too… 

with our hearts and our minds…
and how by this we gain strength… not by trying harder…
but by training like an Olympic athlete…and practising more.

First our minds…we read the Bible in four ways
with our minds…and our objective is to gain understanding

The first way we read the Bible with our minds… is literally …from cover to cover …internalising its life giving message. Only by reading the whole of Scripture can we begin to understand its force and power. And so 

we enter into history …weeping with Sarah at her bareness… struggling with Abraham to offer up his son … puzzling with Job at the tragedies of life,
rejoicing at Israel’s release from the house of bondage,

Bowing in awe with Mary…at the messianic promise and cringing with Peter as he contemplates his 

betrayal of Jesus.

Word slide

The second way to read the Bible with our minds is in context. This means being firmly respectful of the 

original writers intentions… and how they tried to depict life with God.
It means not trying to control their story
or impose our own meaning on it.

Third we read the Bible in conversation with itself.
Standing back…to see how the whole gives structure
and meaning to each part.
How the Gospels and the letters… are in conversation
with the books of the prophets and the law…

Fourthly…Christians are to read the Bible
in conversation with the witness of the whole People of God…past and present

The Church learned from the Synagogue…
that it’s the whole community… who read the Bible
not just one person. Our brothers and sisters in Christ
throughout the centuries… can help us understand
the nature of life with God. They can provide insight
and discernment… to enrich our own spiritual life…

We never read scripture alone…but always in the mystical communion of saints. We read in conversation 

with the living…like Rob Bell and Tom Wright and those who are no longer with us except in their writing…like 

St Augustine …Theresa of Avila…John Calvin and Martin Luther and Thomas Merton…

To shine a light on the many ways life with God can be experienced…we read with wise and mature 

interpreters
of scripture…And we see that reading with the mind
is critically important to our understanding  [pause]

But reading with the heart… is also a time honoured way
for the people of God…and we did some of this divine reading last week…

In reading the Bible with our hearts…
we take a deep breath…and slow down…

With the heart we read in six different ways…

Reading with the heart we listen…Listening…we submit…yielding to what God wants to say to us
through the text.
Allowing its message to flow into us
instead of trying to master it.
Allowing God to apply the text to our lives.

Reflecting on the text…fully engaged –with the drama.

A fourth way to read with our hearts…is to pray the text.

When we pray the text…we allow it to express our gratitude our confession… our fears and complaints…
and our requests to God.

A fifth way to read with our hearts is by applying what we read to our own lives.

Which of course leads us to obedience…always turning… from our selfish ways…to the with God’s way… 

of Shalom

This is the very life to which you and I are called.
What Jesus means when he says
‘I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.’ The with God life is a life of unhurried peace 

and power. It’s solid. It’s serene. Its’ simple…it’s radiant.
And though it permeates all our time we must take time for it.

So let us meet with God together in scripture once more…

Hand out scripture

Pray… Lord, pour the living water that comes from your very Word in Christ… into our dry and thirsty spirits. 

In Jesus’ name AMEN.

Read out loud

Now read the passage again in silence noticing what stands out for you from the passage. [Read in silence right through]

We will continue our reflection as the band begins and they will sense when its time to sing.

Ephesians 2:11-22

So then remember that… at one time you Gentiles by birth,
called ‘the un-circumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’
a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands

Remember you were at that time without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one
and has broken down the dividing wall,
that is the hostility between us.

He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances
that he might create in himself one new humanity
in place of two thus making peace,
to reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross,
putting that hostility to death through it.

So he came to proclaim peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near;
for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

In him the whole structure is joined and grows
into a holy temple in the Lord;

And in whom… spiritually…you are also built together
into a dwelling place for God.

Holy Reading

Expectantly   Attentively   Humbly

Lord, pour the living water that comes from your very word in Christ… into our dry and thirsty spirits.  In Jesus’ name AMEN.

Once again I acknowledge with gratitude Richard Foster's book Life with God as a rich source for this sermon.

Jesus’ way of worship – Part 2

Welcome to the politically incorrect guide to being in church – otherwise known as… Jesus’ way of worship. 

Last week in part one…we heard about Jesus’ new way as witnessed in the Gospels…Today in part two… we’re going to look at what this means
for the way we worship? And next week in light of all
we’ve learned… about Jesus way of worship…
we’ll explore just what… or who is the church?

As we learned last week… Jesus was part of a two thousand year old faith tradition…
with synagogues
spread all over the Roman Empire…and a magnificent new Temple in Jerusalem…
controlled by a powerful religious elite…

so there was nothing more politically incorrect…
than for Jesus…to claim his identity…as the anointed one
of God…the Messiah…the Christ…and to proclaim
that the scriptures were being fulfilled as he speaks.

As a result …Jesus’ and his followers…are increasingly unsafe around synagogues
and eventually the
Temple...so Jesus has to form something completely new…
not only a new politically incorrect way pray and worship…
but a new congregation…a new people of God…
that we’re part of today

And we learned last week…Jesus congregation looks different in eight ways…
because they

1. are gathered around Jesus

2. they offer hospitality to sinners

3. they’re made up of equals

4. they’re convinced Jesus’ teaching reveals God’s will

5. they are healed, forgiven, and restored to community

6. they prayerfully challenge principalities and political powers

7. they share what they have and care for each other and

8. they welcome children as the model for faith

And this politically incorrect way to worship
wasn’t limited to one day a week or to a place… [pause]
it was a way of life…from waking up to lying down…
not a weekly religious habit.

And later on when Jesus was no longer with them in the flesh
after Pentecost…they continued Jesus’ work in spirit and in truth…
bringing light in the darkness and sight…
to those blind to the suffering of others. a way to free prisoners of prejudice and intolerance…
a way to embody good news to the poor

In the Spirit they become…Jesus body on earth…a politically incorrect people…
for whom worship is a way of life…

A ‘called out’ people…gathered around Jesus…

in Greek an ecclesia…
in English…a church

a living breathing representation of the Body of Christ.

So the question for today in the second part of the series…
is when you and I gather together here at the ends of the earth …
are we a manifestation of Jesus new congregation?

Listen to Jesus’ words about what worship will be like in the future

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7INnvnHrlg&feature=related
ends at 3’ 21” Last words… ‘I am he’. 

At the well… Jesus widens the circle around him…
to include an unclean Samaritan woman.  And here…
we’re called to widen the circle around Jesus …to welcome and give hospitality to others…
 to include the previously excluded …so the circle of people… gathered around Jesus…
gets bigger and bigger until it encompasses… all humanity
until every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…

Some people call this evangelism...bringing the good news.

A people who worship in spirit and in truth…not in a synagogue or a Temple but…
where two or three are gathered
in Jesus’ name…he promises to be with them…

So we gather around Jesus today…here at the ends of the earth…
to drink from the life giving water he offers…

to express our love for God…to admit our brokenness…
our on-going need for forgiveness…to speak out against 
powers and principalities in the prayer Jesus taught us…
and to listen for a fresh word from our teacher
that will grow us…as his disciples

Now for ten years I can see from up here… 
that most of you come to worship with open hearts and minds...
 expecting to hear a word from God… just right for your life today…

You listen intently… in spirit and in truth…
for what God might be saying to you in…
the words of our prayers and our songs…
and the opening up the scriptures…
under the light of Jesus’ teaching.

You could say we’re led in worship
the way the Spirit led Jesus… into the wilderness…
but there’s always temptation to watch out for…

Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness…
to take short cuts to power…there can be subtle and alluring temptations…
during our worship together…
to distract us from hearing God’s word for us and drinking our fill…
from the water of life.

If we allow ourselves to succumb to temptation…
we might even forget why we’re here…we stop listening for what God may be saying to us…
and our thoughts become pre-occupied with other things.

Perhaps the tempter whispers…you’ve heard all this before …
might as well plan what you’re having for lunch…

There’s no need to listen…

Or perhaps we’re distracted by other people in the congregation …
by their opinions and needs…
or what we imagine are their preferences for music…

When this happens the tempter might whisper…

Hey…I don’t think this message is going to make sense to old so and so over there?
Or…they’re not going to like this song…or …oh heck…
they’re going to be worried by the sound of the babies in the corner

If we pay attention to these temptations…
suddenly we completely forget to be gathered around Jesus…we forget to listen…
for what he might be saying to us.
So…the temptation has worked…and we’re distracted…

Or sometimes a judgment pops into our minds…
and tempts us away from listening for God’s word to us …
we start wondering whether other people are here for the right reasons…or hearing the right things…

When this happens…our concentration is broken.

Or we can get side tracked by making comparisons…
how things used to be in the old days…or at the church
we used to go to…

When this happens the tempter might whisper…
don’t you hate this music…don’t you want to block out the words…
don’t you miss… old so and so’s preaching…
he really used to hit the nail on the head…

And suddenly…you’re no longer gathered around Jesus 
listening for God’s word for your life in here in Wanaka…

And when you’re new to a worshipping community…
well there’s a particular temptation…that’s tailor made just for you…
It’s when the tempter distracts you by whispering…
I wonder what kind of impression your making… will they think you look spiritual enough…

and suddenly the whole reason for being gathered around Jesus… is drowned out by worry

I guess these temptations are why we’re commanded
to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy…
in fact the Gospels tell us…

…and on the Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue, as was his custom………
he had the habit of worshipping with others.

And maybe if we come often enough…
a fresh word from God will break through our busyness and pre-occupations…
So we keep coming back to the well… don’t we…
for that living water…
And we actually have a choice… whose voice we listen to…

Given Jesus way of worship there’s another question …
are we consumers of a product called worship…
or are we participants in a way of life called worship…
a process of growing and healing that addresses our on-going need for redemption
and calls us to Christ-like action in the world.

Do we ever get so spiritually evolved…we can no longer
be addressed by the living Word of God?

As a way into our hearts…God can use the lyrics of hymns and songs…images…
on the screen and in our imaginations, and God can breathe new meaning into…
words of scripture… we’ve heard a thousand times before

Sometimes our resistance and lack of concentration…might be a signal we’re avoiding…
being addressed by the living God. Sometimes our pre-occupations…
are way to defend ourselves against the Holy Spirit.

So let’s try listening… to what God might be saying…
to us today… through Jesus word to Peter in John’s gospel…
what stands out… will be different for everyone.

‘Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and
went where you wanted; but when you’re old you’ll stretch out your hands, and someone else
will dress you… and lead you where you don’t want to go.’

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God…..
Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter turns… to see the disciple Jesus loved following them… and asks…‘Lord, what about him?’

And Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive
until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’

Now just sit with these words in silence for a moment…

asking what God wants to say to you.

Silence

What did you notice…were you receptive…what word or phrase stood out for you…
this is what we practise when we’re gathered around Jesus.

If worship is a way of life …then listening in spirit and in truth for God’s word for us in Jesus…
is an all of life activity. It may come through the beauty of creation…or the ministry of a friend…
and it is concentrated and focused
when we’re together as the Body of Christ on the Sabbath…
as is our custom.  

But because it’s a way of life…it doesn’t end here.

Touched and healed and transformed…
by the incarnate Word of God…we’re…
called out from here…sent out from here…
to widen the circle around Jesus…

In 21^st century Wanaka…there are many voices competing for our attention. 
My prayer is that through all that noise…we will hear the voice of Christ calling us to follow him.