| Hebrews 12:18-29 "Acceptable Worship" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 25 August 2007 | |
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18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ 21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ 27This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. Prayer: God, we love you. We praise you. All that we have comes from you. We rejoice in your presence. Amen. I was watching the news while working out last week and the news reporter was standing on the beach in Cancun. The beach behind him was deserted and the waves pretty demonstrative but otherwise the sky was lit up orange and purple. The reporter was covering the progress of Hurricane Dean and quickly the video feed switched to footage of business owners boarding up storefront windows but honestly the only thing I could think of was, “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool to be there!” I know it’s a little bit of insanity wanting to go where a hurricane makes landfall instead of heading away from it, (and believe me I’m not tying to make light of the devastation caused by hurricanes) but there’s this adventurous streak in me, the kind that sees a tornado chase vehicle and wants to join in the chase! Some of you know what I’m talking about. You had a parent, who when the early warning tornado sirens sounded, sent you to seek cover in the bathroom while they went to “check it out.” Some of us are married to someone like that! What is it that causes us to take risks despite the danger involved? Out of awe, wonder, and even fear we are drawn to that which can burn us, like a moth to flame. Just as Moses was drawn to the burning bush on the Holy Mountain of God, we are drawn to that which is greater than us. It was on Sinai, the Mount of God that Moses receives his call to free his fellow Hebrews from Egyptian slavery. And it is back here that Moses will lead them for an encounter with the great “I Am.” Let’s pick up the story at Exodus 19, verse 17. 17Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. The sight is so awesome and filled with danger, the people tremble in fear. And yet despite this fear, they are drawn to it. Verse 21, Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people not to break through to the LORD to look; otherwise many of them will perish. The words are of concern not threat. Like the parent who says to her child, “Hot” to keep him or her from grabbing a hot skillet and burning herself. Still the danger is very real. The God of the Mountain is something to be feared! Verse 18: 18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. There’s a story about a woman driving through East Texas when she saw a tornado approaching and so she hid behind her car and watched as it demolished a little house nearby. Running over to the hole where the house once stood, she looked in and saw a man inside it, sitting quite still with his eyes closed, mumbling to himself. “Are you okay?” she shouted. “Anybody down there with you?” she added. “Nope,” he replied, “Just me and God having an urgent conversation!” It’s a funny story but it betrays a theological bias that associates God with tragedy. When I saw the pictures of Greensburg, Kansas following the tornado that struck last May, I was stunned. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind that God had done this to the people of that community. On the contrary, what I heard was God’s “Whom shall I send? Who will go for me, because I am needed there.” Some of us have been wronged by religion. As children we were taught to associate God with terror and judgment and to associate our humanity with shame and guilt and that a fiery hell of torment awaits the unrepentant. This is the God of the mountain, a God who is to be feared and distanced from lest you get burned. And if this is the God you grew up with then you need to get yourself into Disciple Bible Study or attend my Beginnings class or take the Theology of Poverty series because your God image in all mucked up, at no fault of your own. This is not what you have come to, claims the author of Hebrews. The Bible is a record of a people whom God is seeking to get close to. Ultimately, that holy longing is expressed in Jesus, God with us and in the Holy Spirit, God in us. Verse 22: 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. God doesn’t just want to be with us. God wants to consume us with love. Something is said to be consumed when it is receptive to that which acts upon it. Just how receptive are you to what God’s love is trying to say to you and do in your life? I wonder how often we miss out on life changing experiences because we don’t want to be inconvenienced. Instead of asking, “What will it cost me to go and do,” we should be asking, “what it cost me not to go?” Did you read Tyra Damm’s article in the DMN about her experience at Christ’ Foundry? We have a covenant relationship with Christ’s Foundry, a UM Hispanic congregation in the Bachman Lake area. We can have a passion for our family, for shopping, even for saving a few tax dollars. But if we are open to it, God will give us a passion for something greater then that. When we are drawn to God, like a moth to a flame, we begin to recognize and care about the things that God cares about. God’s consuming love melts us, reshapes us, changes us. It fires our imagination about what can be. And so we engage our world in radical, significant, meaning filled, acts. And yes its dangerous, and inconvenient, and even a little bit insane but it’s also awesome and exciting and amazing. When we are consumed by God’s love, (in the words of John Wesley) “people will come for miles to watch you burn!” Verse 28: 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. When I hear of members volunteering at Christ’ Foundry, walking or supporting walkers in the Crop Walk, making prayer shawls to present to the sick, volunteering to teach our children, making sacrificial gifts of their resources, I know that the fire of God’s consuming love burns brightly at Holy Covenant. A book has just been published by the priest who’s responsible for making the case to the Vatican for Mother Teresa's proposed sainthood. The book is a compilation of letters she wrote confessing doubts of faith she wrestled with throughout her ministry. Her dying wish was that her letters be destroyed, burned. They were not. The priest’s argument is that instead of thwarting her potential sainthood, her doubts strengthen her case. Why? Because it reveals a woman who truly loved God and yet struggled with that relationship like all of us do from time to time! Despite her doubts, she poured herself out to be Christ to the poor and dying of Calcutta. And if a woman like that can have doubts about her faith, then there is hope for all of us. Amen? |
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