Sermon at First Presbyterian Church Lockhart
by James Greene
We
are beginning the Season of Ordinary Time in this year’s
lectionary cycle. It is the time
when the church focuses on
different aspects of our
faith. It is a time of our growth in our faith. This is the reason we use the color green
in the vestment on the pulpit. Today’s focus
will be upon God’s Law and how it is the foundation of our life.
In
the reading from the book of Nehemiah
we see the reading and teaching of the Law in Jerusalem by the Prophet Ezra, and the Levites. Lets look into the background on this
event. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King
Artaxerxes in Persia. Nehemiah
was responsible for rebuilding
Jerusalem’s walls when Israel
returned from the Babylonian captivity.
He was the governor of
Judah. There was a poor faithful remnant that had stayed in Judah, and they were now joined by
those who returned out of exile.
Now, there are two
Ezras’in this story, Ezra the Priest, and Ezra the scribe. It begins in the 7th month the end of September - beginning of October. It is during the
festival of the Feast of Booths
or Tabernacles. It is the feast of the “in gathering”; the bringing in of the harvest. Ezra the Priest brings out the scrolls of The Law
returned from Babylon. This is
the Torah
or the Pentateuch; the first 5 books of the Bible - Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy -the Law written by Moses.
The entire
population was gathered by the Water Gate. This is on the South East corner of
the City of Jerusalem. The reading
and the teaching of the Law is done by not only Ezra
the Priest, Ezra the Scribe, but also the teachers of
the Law, -the Levites. This was to help focus the community in their common identity as The People of God.
It was to remind them that they were all one people, and they were to
share the fruits of the harvest
with those who had nothing. This was both the teaching and the fulfilling of the Law that day. This
is what he meant: “This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” They were hearing and acting upon God’s Law in their identity, as a community.
Just as we
here today, work together in the Body of Christ, in community, to teach and fulfill The Law within the congregation, and within this
community. We are in fellowship with
the other churches and the community. We
both teach and fulfill the Law to each other (by helping the sick) and to the neighbors around us.
In the reading from Psalm 19, David describes the works and the Word of God. How all of the creation proclaims
God’s works. If
we just look at the stars at
night there is a quiet testament
and realization of God’s Law. You cannot help but be amazed by
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the awe and wonder of God's
creation and gain an insight into the phrase the ‘fear of the Lord’. There is a whole different perspective on life and on creation
when you see the stars at night while standing in a field, or on a ship in the middle of the ocean.
It is a witness of how all of creation is a testament to God’s Law, and how perfect
is that Law. It is sure
and righteous, and there is life and reward.
Did you ever thought
about how the laws of Physics are also a part of God’s Law and creation? As an Aggie,
I learned a lesson about God’s
Law riding in a friend’s car on the way back to San
Antonio. He had thrown a coke bottle over the top of the car and broke it on a road sign as we were driving along. Coming up upon a railroad bridge, I said “watch
this”, as I threw a bottle upwards
to hit the bridge we were
going under. Have you ever heard the phrase “Deafening Silence”?
I had
forgotten about God’s Law
where “every object in motion tends to
stay in motion”. The bottle being thrown up
ward and forward traveled at the
same speed
as the car.
The problem was, that it
cleared the bridge, and came down in the center of the windshield when we came out the other side of the bridge. It was all part of God’s Perfect Law. Even for Aggies, the study of Physics is not just a science, but it is the study of God’s Law. That Law is light
to the individual. Its teachings illuminate
our direction and life.
In I Corinthians this morning Paul
is teaching about the Body of
Christ. He focuses on how the
Body is one unit, and the Spirit is in one Body. He
explains how one Body is made up of many parts, and many parts
make up one Body. This is a lesson in logic and physics. He is teaching God’s Perfect Law. He shows us how
God in creation has arranged the parts in the body, and how God has combined the members of the
Body. It is all part of God’s perfect
Law and plan.
Paul uses this physical example,
as an analogy for the gifts within the Body of Christ, and how God has appointed different gifts to different people to make one
working Body. He demonstrates
the interdependent connections with each other, and
with other congregations as the Body
of Christ. It is the element of community
like that displayed in Nehemiah that is our identity as a Child, and the People of God. Being part of the fellowship is how
God has arranged and appointed us in His greater scheme of the church. That connectivity,
is part of God’s plan and purpose for us and His Creation.
Paul
is using this analogy to teach the early Christians, that they are to be as one.
It is God's requirement in
the "royal law"; to treat others as we would want to be
treated. Like the faithful remnant
that was there when the exiles returned to Jerusalem. The focus
was to be identified as God’s
People and apart of God's plan
in community. It reflected God's
creation in teaching and fulfilling of the Law.
Example –It is our connectedness as an individual and as a congregation with other Churches in
Lockhart as part of the Christian Community.
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In Martin Luther's Treatise on "The
Freedom of a Christian", he teaches
us that because we are the Children of God, and our heart and faith are focused upon doing God's intended Will; we are both under the Law, and freed from the Law. We are called to the standard
of behavior that is reflected in the Law, but we also have the freedom
in fulfilling that standard. We
are called to be merciful,
and to "love"
one another. Just as Nehemiah called for the people
to share the harvest with those
who had none, we in fulfilling
the Law, are freed by the Law. There is strength in our faith, because “the
joy of the Lord is [our] strength.”
In our reading from Luke, we see Jesus in the power of the Spirit, reading in the synagogue
of his home congregation. This is
after his baptism by John. He is reading
in the worship service “as was his
custom” from Isaiah 61:1-2. He demonstrates
in this reading how he is not only part of the body of that congregation, but also a part
of the greater body of God’s
people Israel. He shows how they were connected in the Law, and part of God’s
plan.
But he stops in mid verse and closes the scroll, and announces “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in
your hearing”. He is teaching and showing how He is fulfilling the Law though
his teaching, and healing. He is teaching
how to live in relationship
to each other as a community of God’s
people, and how they are connected in that community. He is teaching God’s Perfect Law by bring sight to the blind (as in
Psalm
19) and preaching good news to the poor (as in Nehemiah). He is demonstrating how the marginal are to be included in
community and how that is the fulfillment of God’s Law and intent from the beginning. The
Law is not a list of do’s and don’ts, but an outline of being in relationship with God,
and in relationship with each other
in community.
As
a Child of God, and as the People of God are all connected in the teaching and fulfilling of God’s Perfect
Law. We are all called to be one, in the Body of Christ and one,
in Spirit. We are called to reflect not just the letter
of the Law, but reflect
the heart of the Law, in this congregation but in the community
that we live.
So, in the end, we become the example of what it
is, to be, in Christ,
and in the fellowship of the Body of Christ. And we do this in the light of God’s Perfect Law, in our identity,
as the People of God, and
we do it all …..
In the Name of …. The
Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
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