Word and words

But the commentators with all of their efforts do not come close to the depths of meaning and purpose that we have heard in our Bible readings this morning,

especially from the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word....

Unfortunately, it is hard for us to hear this clearly,

because we think of “word” as a unit of human speech,

something which we say or write,

and we live in a world layered with such words:

radio, TV, newspapers, telephone, computer, junk mail, faxes, magazines, Twitter, Facebook, IM, blackberries, ....as well as old-fashioned face-to-face gossip.

When we hear In the beginning was the Word...,we think, “Oh, no, not more...!”

Everyone is using words to get our attention, or to get us to do something, while we look for words to use in defense.

We are so unhappy about all of this because the words have become separated from the realities to which they point.

They are death-dealing instead of life-giving.

They are broken promises rather than promises in action.

The sign says tree-ripened oranges, and they're not.

A friend says I'll call you. and doesn't.

A official says No new taxes, but there are new fees which are taxes by another name.

A spouse says I'll love you, and breaks the promise.

Is it any wonder that we get suspicious about words?

Someone tells us something, and we decide to wait awhile and see what happens.

Words-- they seem to be only sounds pushed by hot air.

Truth – now that is something quite else.

Now this is precisely the point at which the message of the Gospel makes a difference.

This is what the TV commentators ignore.

In Christ Jesus, the Word is not a unit of speech;

The Word is a way of life, a particular way of being that speaks louder than words.

This Word doesn't deliver medical lectures, he heals.

This Word doesn't hand out recipes, he feeds.

This Word doesn't leave inspirational tracts on the table beside a dying person, he raises them from the dead.

This Word come among us in the flesh, does what he says and says what he does.

In him, Word and reality become one thing:

--There is no break between the two.

--Something meant is something done.

--What is spoken is enacted;

as in Genesis:

And God said...and it was so.

John is letting us in on the great news -- that this verse is about Jesus!

God from the very beginning of creation is so completely wrapped up in this man Jesus

--that what he says and does is the will of the Father,

--that what he did for Israel will finally be completed,

--that what he promises for us is beginning to come about even now.

The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.

When we want to know what God is like, we look to Jesus.

When we want to know how God sounds, we listen to Jesus.

When we want to know how God acts,

we watch Jesus.

This is God's answer to his own question of how best to speak to us – to act it out in Jesus.

Here, finally, is a word that won't get lost in the cacophony of human society and speech.

Here is a Word, that, since it accomplishes what it says, will finally win out over all of the possible competition.

He is a Word that will outlast our words which are as limited as the Energizer bunny's speech.

Here is a Word that will overcome all of the death-dealing words which are all around us.

--such as when the doctor says:

“There is no treatment for this.”

--or when bin Laden rattles more threats,

--or when we hear of the death and devastation of the latest storm, mudslide, wildfire, earthquake, tsunami, flood, and all the rest.

In the ancient world, there were the death-dealing words: “Caesar is lord and god.” which had to be resisted with every bit of Christian energy.

In our day, the attack can be blatant or subtle;

week after week we pray for those who have or who are undergoing persecution for faith in the word and promise of our Lord Jesus.

--the al-Shabab militia in Somalia have announced plans to kill all remaining Somali Christians. That is a place where Christians have lived for 19 centuries.

--Shoib Assadullah was arrested in Afghanistan on October 21 for the crime of giving a man a New Testament. No Afghan lawyer will represent him, and he will likely face a death penalty.

Here at home the attack may be a little less blatant, but no less deadly.

For some, to be Christian means to be nice, pleasant, non-challenging,

as on the old-time report card which had the category “plays well with others.”

But the teachers that I remember are the ones who were passionate about their subject, and not always “nice”.

Their words were backed with truth, not ambivalence.

It could be the truth of what has gone amiss in our lives and work, the truth that cuts sure and deep like a surgeon's knife.

It could be the truth of the forgiveness announced by God and a new future opened to us in the company of Christ Jesus.

These are words of truth, words of power, words that intend to accomplish what they announce.

What did we hear in the portions of scripture today?

Jeremiah says, “The Lord announces:

I will bring them,... gather... lead...

redeem... turning their mourning into joy...comfort them, ...give them gladness....

and their response will be delight in the Lord.

Nothing wishy-washy about that message.

And Paul begins Ephesians with words of power also:

God blessed us...

chose us...

destined us for adoption...

forgave us,

made known his mystery to us...

gave us the good news of salvation...

marked us with the seal of the Holy Spirit...

Those are powerful words, words that change our ordinary situation.

And the Gospel today, gives the most powerful word of all:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God...

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth.

It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.

With boldness, these writers proclaim the truth of God.

They are much more concerned about truth than about niceness.

What they say challenges the usual worldly order of things, but that doesn't slow them down.

Forward with true words, bold words, words that open up God's future.

Of the Father's love begotten

Ere the worlds began to be

He is Alpha and Omega,

He the source, the ending be

Of the things that are, that have been

And that future years shall be

Evermore and evermore. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.