Words

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday January 3, 2010, the Second Sunday after Christmas.

Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm 147:12-20
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:10-18

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

In the mid-80’s the R&B group Cameo brought suburban kids everywhere the expression “word up.” The band teaches us that “it’s the code word, no matter where you say it, you know it will be heard.” The video for the song, typical of 80’s R&B, starred LeVar Burton as “The Detective” and would have us believe the word is “cheesy.”

Those of you who enjoy movie musicals will remember that in the late 70’s, Frankie Valli taught us that “Grease is the word.” He sings “it’s got groove, it’s got meaning.” I say movie musicals because Frankie’s movie theme song was never in the stage version. Grease must not have been the word on Broadway.

We can go back deeper in the 70’s and listen to Billy Joel lament, “If I only had the words to tell you, if you only had the time to understand.” This was also about the time that Elton John taught the world that “‘Sorry’ seems to be the hardest word.”

Words, particularly words in music can teach us the power of words. Things like “sorry.” There are even words we use to explain that we don’t have the words to explain.

There is power in the word. There is power in the word. The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood. As for me, I absolutely love that the PC (USA) Book of Order’s Directory for Worship tells the church “Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer. Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever they gather for worship whether in church, home, or other special place.”[1]

When we were little we were taught to say “sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Honestly, don’t we all know that’s just a load? John Bradshaw turns this on its ear. He writes “Words are extremely powerful. Kind words can create a whole day of happiness. Critical words can put us in a funk for a week.” He finishes this thought turning that old expression on its ear, “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but names will hurt you more.”[2]

John’s gospel begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

The hymn reminds us there is power in the blood; Bradshaw reminds us that there is power in the word. Our reading from John also reminds us that there is power in the word. It is the distinctive teaching of the Fourth Gospel that this divine ‘Word’ took on human form in a historical person, that is, in Jesus.[3]

When Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet is asked a question about what he’s reading, he responds, “Words, words, words” — implying that the words in front of him are meaningless. And we’ve all been told at one time or another that what’s important are deeds, not words.[4]

Genesis shares the truth that “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” God didn’t build a light-generating apparatus but instead spoke light into being. Then God did the same for the sky, the land, the seas, the plants, the animals and even humankind itself. On each day of creation, God spoke a truly creative word.

According to the prophet Isaiah, God insists that “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.” For God, “deeds, not words” really doesn’t make sense. The Lord doesn’t have to make a distinction between deeds and words. For God, words are deeds. God uses words to do God’s work.

The significance of God’s word reaches its peak in the New Testament, in which we learn that God’s “Word became flesh and lived among us” as Jesus. No longer simply to speech, God’s Word actually takes human form, becomes incarnate and begins to walk among us as a living and breathing expression of God’s grace and truth. Word, deed, flesh and spirit all come together in Jesus, to show us most clearly what God desires for us. “No one has ever seen God,” claims John in his gospel. “It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”

The word shall not return to God empty but shall accomplish God’s goals.

The word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.

In 1985, Allen Carr wrote The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and 25 million people kicked the habit. Two years later, Randy Shilts wrote “And the Band Played On,” forcing the world to pay attention to AIDS.

In the early ’90s, Peter Kramer’s best seller “Listening to Prozac” got America popping pills in a whole new way. According to “mental_floss” magazine, Kramer noted that drugs such as Prozac seem to make many people—including those who aren’t depressed—more confident, less sensitive to rejection and more willing to try new things. The jury is still out, of course, on whether people who are not depressed should be popping Prozac.

In 2001, Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover as an unskilled laborer and attempted to survive on $5.15 per hour. Her book “Nickel and Dimed” was one of the forces that led to changes in minimum wage. And last summer, we watched in amazement as social-networking technologies spread news about the Iranian elections like wildfire. Nationwide protests erupted, fueled by Twitter, YouTube and cell-phone communication.

Matthew’s gospel begins with a history lesson. Mark’s begins with John the Baptist. Luke splits the difference by giving us a history lesson about John the Baptist. Oh but John, John gives us this wonderful poetically theological introduction that connects the beginning of the gospel with the beginning of all that has ever begun. “In the beginning” he writes; “in the beginning.”
There is no Messianic secret in this gospel. There is no time for us to spend wondering just when Jesus will reveal himself to the world. The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.

Words have creative power and can actually change the world.

The Gospel teaches us that there are people in the world who do not know God, but it is through God’s words, the words that God gives us that we are able to take the Gospel into the world.

To recapture power of the Word, we must again learn to speak so that those who will hear us will understand we have something to say. And what a thing we have to say. We believe that faith makes a difference in our lives.

As the apostles shared with the world on the day of Pentecost, we too are called to share. Our stories tell others about who we are and whose we are. We all have stories, but we only share in the Pentecost when we share these stories. We are called to know our stories, the stories of our faith that shows others the difference a relationship with the triune God makes in our lives. And we must be able to communicate this story so that those with ears may hear. We, we who carry the cross of Christ into the world must learn to speak the Word so that the world may hear.

We can gain wisdom on this matter from ancient Celtic Christianity.[5] In 563 AD, about a century after the death of St. Patrick, Columba sought off to an island off of the western Scottish coast. This isle would be his base to reach the Picts of Scotland. Columba took a sizeable corps with him and they learned the culture of the Picts. They chose to pay the price to understand the Picts. Columba’s way of doing mission was the opposite of the model James Michener presented in his novel “Hawaii.” They learned about the people, their language, and their culture. They sent out teams from their island settlement—a little place called Iona—and in 100 years the Picts were significantly Christian.

The lessons we take from this is that there are people close to us who do not know the Word of God. We need to learn about how they speak and show them the Gospel in words they understand. Peter and the Apostles did this miraculously; Columba and the Iona community did this diligently. We need to learn how to share the story of faith so that those with ears may be able to hear the word of God.

So today, let us all regain the elemental presence of the Word. We come to the font of many blessings overflowing with living water and remember our baptism. We come to the table with the cup and the plate to partake in the food that feeds our bodies and our souls. We hear the Word proclaimed and even more so, we come to know the Word Incarnate, the Son of God.[6] Again, let us rejoice and as the Word was in the beginning with God, let us be with the Word now. As we are with the Word now, let us take the word out into the world.

[1] Book of Order, Directory for Worship, 2007-2009 Edition, W-2.1003
[2] Bradshaw, John, “Homecoming, Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child.” New York: Bantam Books, 1990, page 93.
[3] logos, BDAG, Greek-Hebrew Lexicon
[4] http://homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040502
[5] Hunter, George C. III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000, page 36.
[6] http://timelovesahero.blogspot.com/2009/05/unforeseen-hope.html