REFLECTING GOD’S LIGHT
LEIGHMOOR 25 Feb 2018
The actor who played God in the movies, George Burns once said that a Sermon should have a good start and a good ending and be as short as possible in between.
This homily will, hopefully, shed some light on the relevance of today’s lectionary Bible readings which culminate in the ‘theology of the cross’ teaching us to live lives of service to others rather than to control and dominate. We firstly consider Genesis, followed by a Psalm and then Mark’s Gospel. Finally we should consider how we can reflect God’s light into the dark corners of our personal worlds.
God’s covenant with Abraham and his offspring promised two things: descendants and land. Abraham and Sarah’s own childlessness provides one of the first moments of anxiety over the promise. They are old and the prospect of parenthood for them is laughable. Yes, Abraham fell on his face and laughed. The descendants of Abraham will face obstacles about the promise like: barren women, enslavement in Egypt, desperation in the wilderness and the exile in Babylon. Will God keep his promises? The change of Abraham’s wife’s name to Sarah meaning princess, stressed that she was to be the mother of nations and kings down through the ages and so she served the Lord’s purpose.
The link of this reading to the season of Lent is this. The cross is the ultimate obstacle to realizing the promises of God. God had promised a redeemer, a newly appointed king of kings, a saviour to deliver the nations from sin and suffering. However that redeemer will be executed by the Roman Empire and who could really be raised from the dead? The prospect is as impossible as a ninety year old woman having a child with a hundred year old man. When we hear the promise of the resurrection, we know to fall on our faces in reverence: God is speaking to us! We wait for Easter when we witness the promises fulfilled, and our stubborn doubt-filled laughter turns to the laughter of joy.
Psalm 22 is an ancient prayer inviting the godforsaken to pray those words to God, and then see what happens. The first verse of this Psalm is quoted by Jesus on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Verse 24 speaks of suffering, but in the end, as in today’s gospel reading, there is restoration and deliverance. The circle of praise spreads widely, extends beyond time itself. The psalm finishes with a sense of praise “All the nations…all the families of nations, worship before God” Everyone is able to join in with the psalmist saying “The Lord has done it” What deeds? “The saving deeds that he has done”.
Michael Rogness, Professor of Preaching, Luther Seminary, St Paul, USA, assisted me in this commentary on Mark 8.
We are so accustomed to the message of Jesus’ crucifixion that it is easy to overlook how jarring that prospect would have been for the disciples. The great hope of the Israelite people at that time was freedom from the Roman overlords. They had seen Jesus’ miracles, and experienced his magnetic personality. They would reasonably assume Jesus would challenge the way they lived as servants under the Romans. They had big hopes for the future; not a cross.
Contrary to all their hopes and expectations, he would undergo suffering and be killed. It was the worst possible thing Jesus could have said. Jesus shocks the disciples even more deeply by telling them that his way of the cross may well be their future too. Those who would follow him will ‘deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me’. As if that’s not enough, Jesus continues with even more unexpected and totally unforeseen news: To save your life you must lose it. You may lose your lives for Jesus sake.
The whole point of Jesus’ ministry was that he came to give his life for the salvation of them and us.
By our human nature we want to be prosperous, strong, successful and influential. Jesus had other priorities. He, on the other hand, came to serve, not to be served. His ways are not our ways, yet he invites us to follow him and his ways. We are called upon to do the very best we can with the talents and abilities God has given us. To ‘deny oneself’ means to keep one’s priorities in harmony with what Jesus told us in the two ‘great commandments’: love God and love your neighbour.
Jesus gives us hope for the future. We are called upon to follow him not just for this future, but in this life. We follow Jesus because it is worth it.
The author and President of Leprosy International, Eddie Askew has some appropriate words for such a time. He writes in his book:-“A Silence and a Shouting” based on Luke’s Gospel.
“Some people can walk quietly and calmly into a situation of confusion, size it up, and do something about it. It is a rare and enviable gift and Jesus had it. After the exaltation of the experience of the transfiguration, on the mountain and the peace of the night in the hills, Jesus was met by a crowd of people.
It was a large and curious crowd, shoving and elbowing, closing in, talking, quarrelling, dirty and sweaty, staring at the Galilean prophet they had come to see. Someone yells: “Look at my son, your disciples couldn’t do anything”. Get the picture? A crowd, noise, heat, criticism, sickness. The disciples are helpless. The father is disappointed, belligerent. To make it worse the boy goes into convulsions. In it all, Jesus is competent, and in control of the situation, effectively translating the love of God into action, by healing the boy and restoring him to the father.
Jesus , firmly in control, gently takes His disciples beyond the immediate, beyond the healing, quietly revealing the fundamental purpose of His presence with them, leading them gently up to the cross. Not carried away by success. He showed compassion in full understanding of where it would lead Him.”
Things worked out for Jesus in his own life as a suffering servant. He was revealed as an authority but he was not an authoritarian. He was not going to impose himself as a king in a way that worldly authorities would understand. He is to be listened to but he leaves people free to accept him or choose the myths of human imagination, while with the eyes of faith, trusting the witness of the apostles, we can see the reality of God in him.
From a sermon by Rev McNaughton , Baptist Minister at South Melbourne, we know there a happy times and sad times during life. There are times when the darkness is overwhelming and we can only see there is light somewhere up ahead. We can pray that we are still on the right road. Today reminds us that there is light at the end of the tunnel, not an oncoming train. A day of promise, not so much that my suffering will end, but that I will come to see the point of it all. When we come through Lent and Easter, there will be a day the light will shine, with more power than ever.
From 2 Corinthians 4: 4-6, Epiphany is the season of light, symbolized by the nativity star and candle. The baby Jesus came into the dark world as light, a small, frail flickering candle. The candle grew increasingly as Jesus matured until the candle became as brilliant as the sun. At the Transfiguration Jesus’ clothes glistened and were intensively light, and his face shone as the sun. Darkness is identified with evil and Satan. God is light and Jesus said that he was the light of the world.
What is the meaning of life?
During World War two, the people of Crete were supporting the Australian and other allied servicemen who had fled after a disastrous fight in Greece,
German Paratroopers were dropped from the air and overwhelmed ferocious resistance particularly by the Crete natives. Retribution was swift. Heavy machine guns soon overcame pitchforks and shovels and then villagers, their whole families were rounded up and executed just for resisting the invaders.
Dr Christos Popoderious as a child found a crashed German motor bike and a broken mirror left during the war. He polished the edges of the small mirror and would often reflect sun light all around in playful childhood games.
In giving a talk to an audience after the dedication of an Institute of Peace he had built up to bring harmony back between the Germany and Crete, he was asked what is the meaning of life?
His reply was that he carries around with him in his wallet that mirror which reminds himself that we all can shine light into the darkest corners of the world and bring peace and understanding. God’s light rather than our own.
A prayer:-
Lord, when I’m faced with crisis,
With demands on time and attention,
When the fingers of panic start to churn
And I can’t cope.
Lord, let me take your hand.
Help me to see your eternal purposes
within the demands of daily living.
Show me the essential beyond the immediate.
And protect me from being so busy with the urgent
that I have no time for the important.
And Lord, give me your peace.
Amen
1582 words