Well, I don't know about you, but I think this is a pretty scary group of messages in the readings today. There is reference to the end times, persecution and wars. Sounds much like today doesn't it? I don't really understand why those who comprised the Lectionary chose to have these passages just before Advent starts: But I suspect it may be they want people to understand WHY Jesus came in His Incarnate body to live amongst us where so many ungodly actions can occur. In times such as then, as now, it is easy to understand the great need for a Savior. One who cares, and saves!!!
Have you seen the advertisement on TV where a disheveled man is trying to con a person out of money by some sort of scam? What he is counting on is that the person about to be conned out of a great deal of money is ignorant about his own finances. Unfortunately, some people are gullible, or feel inadequately informed so they allow others to handle very important issues for them. This can be good if they have complete trust in that person because this will leave them vulnerable and dependent upon that person: A person, possibly, with a different focus, a different objective. The con artist definitely had priorities of his own.
As many of you know, my husband has Parkinson's Disease. When he was diagnosed with it, we really had no idea what it was or what it would mean for our lives. Gradually, though, I realized that not knowing the answers to these questions left us at the mercy of people who did not know our situation, or our personal needs, so I started to research and advocate for us. Overtime, we began to go to seminars where we gained enough knowledge to share information with others we met at support groups. At the seminars, there is usually very recent research data, and a wider range of ideas explained which makes it easier to understand the subject matter. Although, at these seminars, they are usually soliciting people for clinical trials; this knowledge, gained on our own, increased our ability to ask even more detailed questions about new methods of treatment and medications. Our specific needs for our situation were being addressed to our satisfaction so we were not floundering in the ark, so to speak. We could then weigh our own options because We knew what to expect. I don't mean to underestimate the skill of some of our finest medical personnel; but having choices over our own lives made sense to us, especially having lived long enough to see some great errors made when someone, or some organization, we trusted let us down.
Science has a way of changing circumstances very quickly, as you have no doubt heard, as one day a product or behavior is safe, even good for you, then the next day is banned or discouraged, such as some very basic items like coffee, aspirin, and even certain vitamins. Each of us, though, should be informed as best we can for our own protection: our well being. The scam artists don't stand a chance of taking your life savings away when you know how to protect yourself. The scenario with the Parkinson's Disease is typical of how we can feel helpless to control our own destinies and lose hope because we feel we are over our head, lost in a world of medical terms and technical language; being subject to someone else's priorities. Well, this brings us back to the readings today and the importance of finding out what God is telling us individually through them. Thankfully, the most important aspect of our lives is our spiritual side and our relationship with God; and for that, we can handle it personally, dealing directly with the Creator of All.
A very good way to stay in touch with God, in addition to prayer, is reading the Bible, gaining some insight for your self. Each reading can expose a new message that the Holy Spirit is attempting to convey. Every day has new challenges for us and it is in those varying demands of life that we can draw new meaning from God’s Word. As mentioned in last week's sermon, this season of Pentecost is just about completed for this year and we will soon begin Advent: A time to celebrate the anticipated birth of the Christ child. Besides the usual gift sharing, the get togethers, and the feasting on food, what IS IT that God is hoping to share with you during this time? When the new Church Year begins, it is actually a wonderful time to focus reading the Bible on the story of our Savior's birth. A month later, when the secular New Year occurs, there are specially formatted Bibles that make it easy for people to cover reading the entire Bible in sections; daily reading a few chapters to complete it in one year. These Bibles also make good Christmas gifts. Another suggestion is to concentrate on the psalms and proverbs; a little at a time for a few minutes a day. These are just a few methods to keep up to what God may be saying to you this year, next year, as well as, today.
Being informed of our faith is our personal responsibility just as it is necessary for us to daily read the newspaper, watch the weather channel and know what our politicians endorse. The readings today are scary but they are not meant to scare people away; or to scare money out of people but rather to inspire faithful followers into understanding them. As with anything you value, it can take time and energy to make it pay off. Persevering was, and is, an important attribute to have, as not much can be accomplished without it. If the Christian is to witness to the world by its mission, its love of others and generosity of spirit; it takes dedicated, hard working individuals convinced of What God wants them to do and BE. The Bible is one of God's methods of communication; His language.
Would we even know if God was sending us a sign about something very important if we were not aware of How He sends these signs? Yes, we read in the newspaper the signs and warning about investing our money to get maximum profits, product recalls for our safety, and where to get the best sales but what about less obvious signs. The subtle changes in our way of life: how we use our leisure time, our spending habits, our unconscious waste of natural resources. We can have our false gods, too: money, power, prestige. We can even compromise our moral standards by the language we use, the movies we watch, or justifying the extra coffee break at work. Not that any of these behaviors apply to people here, but the character of our society can change ever so slightly, so slowly. We need to be aware of the impact of the influences on us and also how we pass those behaviors onto others. But first we need to have the standards God wants for us. Right at the beginning of the Bible, in Exodus 20:5 and a few other places in it as well that I will let you find, God admits to being a jealous God: He expects us to follow His ways, not our own with no other gods guiding us.
Today's Epistle letter to the Thessalonians was meant to warn that community of habits of behavior that would eventually damage their society and relationship with God. Although, their leadership was spiritually strong in many ways, this letter sent by a respected teacher, was to help straighten out any wayward thinking. That Gentile community was just learning this new faith which in itself was evolving and experiencing many contradictions and conflicts from various factions. The letter, though, as you can imagine, could easily have been received as a challenge to some - so the messengers had to be strong enough in their own faith and convictions to withstand the criticism.
For the last few months, I have been attending the Church Growth meetings which are focused upon making changes in this Church's life to enhance the experience of being a member here. Another goal of the committee's work is to attract those outside this Church body to become actively involved in the mission and life of St. Philip's. These are admirable goals and not just for the surface reasons of growing this spiritual community, but for the deeper reason any Church exists: Growing Christians. People interested in learning about Jesus.
The outreach happenings here at St. Philip's are numerous. I have observed tag sales, cooking and baking sales, theme baskets, loose plate collections and vestry agendas focused upon sending money out the door of this Church to assist those less fortunate. These are great Christian examples of helping your neighbor and not expecting anything in return: Events and contributions that Jesus would probably be endorsing if He were here right now.
Yet, even in the ancient days of the Old and New Testaments, there were people who were kind and yet they heard comments such as used in today's first reading: The Day of the LORD. This was a common expression used by some of the Old Testament prophets to warn of impending judgment by God to tell those who were committing sins to change their ways. Their behavior was not giving glory to God as they were not concerned with His directions/ His standards.
In those times, God often spoke through the prophets and did not have the personal interaction with the people that we have today, especially with the added resource of the Bible. The collect today sums up How we are able to do some of this ourselves: Part of this is a quote I first heard often during my beginning years of Bible Study. Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life ...
St. Paul and St. Luke, just as Jesus did, spent much of their time trying to educate the masses who were not as fortunate as we are today. With so many modern resources, we can even do on-line searches, and be as informed as we like; but nothing will take the place of what you and God can accomplish together the good old fashioned way. As today's collect said: we need to READ, MARK, LEARN and inwardly DIGEST His WORD.
So How DO we READ the Bible? If we consider it a historical recording of the actual events of the people listed in it, should we be taking notes and listing out the dates of battles, and other special occasions? Well, we can, but initially there is another, more general reason to read the Bible. Instead, the reader should be learning HOW God has acted throughout history in His world. This is gaining insight into God's methods; the way He interacts with His people. Then the collect says to MARK it; focusing on the words and phrases that stand out to us. The Word is to make an impression on our minds; to leave its Mark in our hearts. Next the collect says to LEARN the text. This is a deeper understanding of God's ways necessary so we do not repeat the errors of earlier generations but imitate those who are holy ones and who worship God as we should.
The last directive in the Collect is to inwardly DIGEST. That is the most fruitful segment of the line as that is where the WORD changes the READER. That is the goal. The word digest says so much just comparing it to what we do with food. It travels through us, becomes a source of nourishment, building the cells of our bones and blood. This is what the Word does to you. God speaks to you personally, changing your DNA in a way no other food source can do. There is a book The Hidden Messages in Water by Dr. Masaru Emoto which details how the crystals in frozen water are changed by what they are exposed to and since the human body, including the mind, requires water to survive, you can see what its potential is.
The opposite is also obvious as to what effects something negative might have on a young mind especially. An example would be watching, in my opinion, an Anti-Christian movie like the soon to be released The Golden Compass, marketed for children, starring Nicole Kidman, written by an atheist in which God dies at the end of the movie. This is a subtle type of influence that can change the character of our society, one child at a time, especially since its release was timed to be in the theatres during Our Christmas season and celebration of our Savior's birth.
But, none of those verbs listed in the collect, READ, MARK, LEARN, or DIGEST alone will be sufficient to bring the Bible to life. There has to be a deliberate attitude of wanting to be fed and who will be those who are the living examples of those who have been fed? The WITNESSES here, right here; These witnesses who have traveled the distance, eaten food from Heaven, and been TRANSFORMED by the living WORD of GOD. So let us Be prepared for the celebration of the Incarnation by being the good students of His Word learning the lessons from the past and using them to teach others to be One of God's Own.