Sermon: God’s living word 14.10.18

The Epistle to the Hebrews sets a chilling warning – before reminding us of a great comfort. God may be love, but God is the Sovereign and Judge of all. Yet if we truly turn to God with a humble and contrite heart, God will save us, heal us, transform us through the grace made known to us in Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:12 is often quoted referring to all of Scripture: “The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

There is something terrifying about this verse as it compares God’s judgement to a finely sharpened sword, which can expose the inner workings of our heart.

All those things we dare not expose to the light. What psychotherapists would describe as deeply hidden or repressed beneath our conscious minds.

It is part of our understanding as Christians, that we all stand in judgement before God – that we will have to give an account of our lives before God.

The author of Hebrews uses the Greek term logos to refer to the word of God. The “word” of God is living and active — terrifying, in fact — and to this Logos, all creation, including the author and his congregation, must render our own logos, or an account of our lives.

Unlike the Gospel of John, Hebrews does not personify logos as Jesus Christ. Instead, the logos is the Word of God that proceeds from the creative mouth of God.

The author points us back to the beginning of the Book of Genesis where all creation is poised under God’s searching word. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s breath (his spirit/his voice/his word) hovered over the water (which was part of the formless state of creation)” (Gen 1:1,2.)

The activity of God’s words is like a form of precision surgery. The sharp instrument (more like a modern scalpel) is used with skill in to open things up in a manner that the surgeon can see. The goal of surgery is to bring to light the nature of things hidden, in order that they can be treated and so improve the life of the patient.

Judgement, you see, is also the opportunity for mercy. God opens the human heart in order to treat it.

God’s word calls us to be honest about our own vulnerability so that we might receive God’s mercy.

The author of Hebrews depicts Jesus as a sympathetic high priest.

By the word “sympathy” we often mean having sympathetic feelings for a person (we feel sad for someone hurt). But a better translation would be “compassion” (that deep gut feeling that stirs us to do something caring and compassionate that helps someone).

When people undergo surgery, just as I did several weeks ago, we want to know that our surgeon is doing their utmost best for us. We trust that the procedure – which will cut into our flesh – is ultimately aimed at our wellbeing.

Jesus as our high priest, we are told in Hebrews, understands our human vulnerability, since he has experienced it. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4: 15).

Jesus Christ’s response to human vulnerability, as our great high priest, is one of grace, which brings healing.

Now this would have sounded very strange in the ancient world. The Jewish community had a high priest whose primary roles involved offering temple sacrifices and presiding at other public functions. Ministering to the vulnerable was not part of their job description. The same was true of high priests in Greek and Roman religions. They too oversaw the offering of sacrifices, but again sympathy was not part of the role of priest.

Yet as Christians we focus on compassion of Jesus, which we believe reflects the mercy and grace at the heart of God.

In the Christian church, confession as a practice encouraged. We should always approach God with a humble and contrite heart that acknowledges our sins and failures.

May be the practice of confession is not emphasised liturgically as much in Presbyterian and reform worship as it is Catholic and Anglican worship. But it is not uncommon in worship to have a public confession.

However, confession is also encouraged in our private relationship to God. To be utterly honest is the only way to be in relationship with God. And so private prayer time should have space for reflection upon our daily actions and confession of our failings.

But as a church, we are community formed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his Spirit is working within us. Therefore, we are called to be a community of forgiveness. “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” (The Lord’s prayer).  So, the acts of confession and forgiveness must be lived out amongst us socially.

This challenges us as a church to be quite radical, in society. Even though our society seeks to be progressive and fair. We human beings often protect our own feelings and reputation, before we seek to confess our trespasses to others. But as a church we should try to be communities influenced by the mercy and compassion we have ourselves experienced in God. Just as God has forgiven us our many sins – so we now become instruments of God’s peace and forgiveness to others.

It is quite radical, and the Letter of James reiterates this “Be doers of the word [of God] not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). And specifically, with regards to confession, James writes “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). While some believe this to be a form of general confession – I believe it is part of being a community of forgiveness – where if we approach those we have sinned against, we will be accepted and forgiven… though appropriate acts of restoration and reconciliation may be also appropriate.

(i.e. something is taken or broken, attempts to return or restore something would be appropriate – in mutual agreement between the parties.) So, let us be a church where our confession is honest and far reaching and our forgiveness is genuine. Amen.