Doxologizing

“Doxologizing” – Texts for Pentecost: Gen. 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21, John 14:23-31

On the surface, it would appear that Pentecost is all about language. From the tower of Babel, where language and the confusion thereof seems the main problem; to the day of Pentecost in our Epistle where the ability to speak foreign languages seems the miracle, to our Gospel where Jesus promises the Spirit to teach us all things in a language we can grasp, finally, divinely

It is an appealing line of thought, that language is the pivot on which all turns. It has been an appealing thought in late 20th and early 21st century theology and philosophy where thinkers like Wittgenstein remain popular for their attention to language as the crux of the matter. It’s an appealing idea on a personal level for any of us who’ve ever struggled to learn a foreign language, like oh, say, maybe a hypothetical college sophomore tackling Hebrew (being poorly advised to do so) with a succession of weak amateur teachers, who managed to convince him only of this: that the story of the tower of Babel proves that foreign languages are a curse from God designed to gum up all the works of the world, and that laboring in the foreign language departments of academia is a sure way to experience the ancient curse in a very first-hand sort of manner!

So, the takeaway from this line of thought is that if we can only get our language right, find the right words, attach them to the right concepts, drill them into our heads and those of others, then everything will come right and Paradise will be restored. So much of the modern church has been devoted to this idea that Christianity is all about getting our language right in our talk of God, the right words, concepts, propositions and the acceptance thereof.

But I don’t buy it.

Nope. I don’t think language was the problem back at the tower of Babel, nor that the Holy Spirit is sent mainly to make me talk pretty one day. I think there is a much deeper problem in all three of our lessons today that God addresses in Christ and that the language thing is just a means to a much greater end, just a wrench in God’s toolbox, for getting this bigger problem sorted.

So what is more important than getting our language of God right? In a word - Worship!!!
Worship is what we were made for. Our worship is what got all fouled up in the Garden of Eden. Worship was the issue at Babel, the issue at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, the issue when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and the issue that we are really trying to address in our catechesis, which four of our young people have undergone this past year and will be confirmed in this morning.

I have often wanted a bumper sticker (especially at pastors’ conferences) mirroring the old “It’s the economy stupid” that would say “It’s not the language, the concepts, the outreach, and it’s definitely not the numbers; it’s the worship, stupid!” The very word “orthodoxy” does not, as most think, mean “right teaching.” No, a beginning Greek student would tell you it means right glory, literally, the right glorifying of God which is to say “right worship!” The Christian Church is about worship, first, last, always, and the restoration of that true worship of God which comes to us through faith in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Look: in heaven there will be no more catechisms, no more debates, no more question and answer sessions, no more evangelism, no more outreach, no more books designed to reshape our thinking. No. All of that will be gone. There will be no more faith even, because we will see what we now must believe. But what there will be, forever and amen, is worship, the worship of God in Christ Jesus, the Song that goes ever on, the Dance that never gets old, and the Game we never tire of playing where each round is better and more delightful than the last. We were created to worship the Holy Trinity, and in that worship to share the fullness of the divine life and delight forevermore. This is the light that illuminates Paradise, that which makes it Paradise, that indefinable something we have been chasing all our earthly lives and never quite envisioning, never quite capturing...

Our earthly worship gives, on the whole, a very poor idea of the heavenly reality (especially when we try to make the Divine Service relevant to ourselves instead of ourselves relevant to God). What we do here on Sunday mornings, is just the barest hint, the vaguest shadow of what goes on before the throne of God in heaven. But it’s a start.

In our catechesis this year, we went through a lot (306!) questions and answers. And we had had fun with that thing, didn’t we? But the point of it all was not just to get confirmed and cash gifts, or to amass knowledge about God that we file away or impress others with. No, the purpose of all this was to draw deeper into the worship of Christ, to make all our words worship words, and what we do here on Sunday is meant to lead us to make all our lives one great doxology!

But I see some of you don’t look so convinced of this.  That Pentecost is about worship not language. Alright. Let’s go back to the very beginning, [a very good place to start!] to Genesis and the Tower of Babel. Maybe if I convince you of this, the rest will fall into place.

In the days of Babel, the whole earth had one language and one speech. And what they did with that was to try to make a Name for themselves by building a City, a Tower topping out in heaven. Trying to make a Name for ourselves is a total rejection of the Name God gifts to us through faith by Word and Sacrament, in Holy Worship, Divine Service. So, when God saw the building of the Tower at Babel, He pronounced it a disaster. And He came down and confused our language, started foreign language departments to stop this project - the Babel Project.

And what was that Babel Project finally, if not worship, fouled-up worship? It was worship of ourselves, a monument to ourselves, the man-made heaven modern man still yearns for and dreams of. It was a total rejection of the heaven that God gives in Christ and a demand to substitute a Kingdom we’ve built through our own engineering and outreach endeavors. And once the Tower is built, we go conquer the world and make’em live in it (like-it-or-not) by our proselytizing.

The confusion of our language at Babel was not the problem.  It was the divine solution, a temporary stop-gap to the real problem of fouled up worship. And so the restoration of true language at Pentecost was no final solution, just the means towards restoring true worship!

We still build our Towers of Babel today. Our businesses, governments, states, churches, are, too often, monuments to ourselves, attempts to scale heaven by our impressive works and too often explicit rejections of the heaven Jesus gives only as a Gift by Way of the Cross. Much of the modern church’s endeavors are just Babel-building!

You can drill people with the language of Christian dogma, but if that is the end-all, it is just another Tower of Babel. Language is an important tool, but one designed to be used to worship for Christ’s sake. That is to say, our language is only right when it is doxological, when it is by and for the worship of God in Christ.  To that end, God sends His Spirit again today in Word and Sacrament, to re-shape our language yes, but more so to glorify, to eucharistify, to doxologize, all our words by the incarnate Word of Christ Jesus, that, ultimately, in the worship of Him, we’ll find Peace surpassing understanding, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon by:  Pr. Kevin Martin (May 19, 2013 - Pentecost)

What 'orthodox' Christians believe...

What are some of the things 'orthodox' Christians believe?


Here's just a small list:

• God created the heavens and the earth.
• God sent a flood, destroyed the earth, but saved 8 persons and 2 of each kind of animal.
• He sent various plagues upon Egypt in order to deliver His people from bondage.
• He parted the Red Sea.
• Elijah was carried into heaven.
• Daniel was saved from the lions' den.
• Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary.
• Jesus healed the blind and the lame.
• Jesus healed a leper.
• Jesus turned water into wine.
• Jesus walked on the water.
• Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
• Jesus died, was buried, and then raised.

This is just a small list of the miraculous things God has done and that orthodox Christians believe and confess.

After mankind was deceived into thinking he could be like God and started trusting in himself rather than God, God then intervened to save man from his sin and rebellion and lack of faith in God.  All of these miracles listed and the many, many others found in the Bible point this out - that He did intervene with His creation.  The Bible is God's story of His creation, our rebellion, and His redemption of man through Christ's death and resurrection.


Sin, death, and the devil have held us captive, but God has worked throughout history to reveal Himself and His faithfulness, and to deliver us from sin, death, and the devil.  He has done so as His only begotten Son became incarnate, lived blamelessly, revealed to us the Father, sent us the Holy Spirit, and bled and died for the sins of the world, and was raised from the grave for His name's sake.


He is good.  He is powerful.  He is just.  He is merciful.  Based on what He has done and it being revealed to us, His Word is faithful and true.


How has God revealed Himself?  He is known through His creation, He has revealed Himself in the Son, and He has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture.  He and His Word are faithful and true.  He spoke- the heavens and the earth were created.  He spoke- He delivered His people from Egypt.  He spoke- Lazarus was raised from the dead.  He spoke- lame people walked, the blind began to see.  Nothing symbolic, right?  He spoke.  Results followed.  He is faithful and true.


When Christ instituted the Lord's Supper, what did He say?

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.  (Luke 22:14-20 ESV)

And Paul writes to the Corinthians: 

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

(1 Corinthians 10:14-17 ESV - italics mine)

Why do I write all of this?  It is good news!  We don't have to try to hear God's whispering in our hearts.  We don't have to get ourselves in some sort of mystical, meditative state to try to hear His voice.  He has spoken most assuredly in the Scriptures.  Christ is faithful and true.  His Word is faithful and true.


It cannot be stated any better than Luther has:

It is the Word, I say, that makes this a sacrament and distinguishes it from ordinary bread and wine, so that it is called and truly is Christ’s body and blood. For it is said, “Accedat verbum ad elementum et fit sacramentum,” that is, “When the Word is joined to the external element, it becomes a sacrament.” This saying of St. Augustine is so appropriate and well put that he could hardly have said anything better. The Word must make the element a sacrament; otherwise, it remains an ordinary element. ... It is true, indeed, that if you take the Word away from the elements or view them apart from the Word, you have nothing but ordinary bread and wine. But if the words remain, as is right and necessary, then by virtue of them the elements are truly the body and blood of Christ. For as Christ’s lips speak and say, so it is; he cannot lie or deceive. (Large Catechism V:10-11,14 [Martin Luther], The Book of Concord, edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert [Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000], p. 468) -bold italics mine.

When participating in His supper the next time, and the pastor speaks Christ's words- 'Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you.  This do in remembrance of Me.  Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me- rest assured Christ's words are faithful and true.  We receive His good gift, guarantee, and pledge of His salvation.  He has poured out His precious blood, and He was broken for our salvation.  We receive these good gifts when we hear His Word faithfully proclaimed, and when we receive His promise in His Supper.




---
Taken from Luther's Small Catechism:


What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

Where is this written?

The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write thus:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.

After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Take, drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it,in remembrance of Me.

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?

That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?

It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?

Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.

But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.

Church...

I think it is good to read and listen to those who you don’t necessarily agree with. One can learn things that you wouldn’t necessarily have learned if you didn’t take in another’s viewpoint.


I say this to specifically point out that I continue to read blogs of those who see things differently than I do in regards to ecclesia(ekklesia) and how church should look.  In some ways, I see the same issues the anti-institutional guys see.  Seeker-sensitive churches that are all-consumed with being relevant and concerned with growth instead of preaching and proclaiming Christ and His death and resurrection.  That is the very reason I left the local church a few years ago.


I was in the same place many of these individuals are.  I couldn't stand church.  I would go almost completely out of obligation.  Not that I felt I had to please God, but something of the sort.  At the time, I couldn't have accurately explained the reason.  But I know exactly why now.  Almost every sermon I heard would mention Jesus, and would briefly talk about how He died on the cross for my sins.  But immediately after that, I would hear about all the social justice issues that I needed to take part in.  How I should sell my house, uproot my family, and move into a different part of town to take part in mission with God and what He was doing.  How the church needed me to do more.  To be sure, often these imperatives were stated subtly, but there were times where they were much more overt.  All of this in the name of 'church growth.'

There is much wrong in the evangelical church today.  Not all, but certainly much.

However.

It isn't the system that is necessarily the bad thing.  All of these bad things occur in a system, but the system, in and of itself, is not the problem.  Sin is the problem.  The same issues can and do occur in non-institutional settings.  We are sinners in need of a Savior.  While there are many bad things that occur in the institutional church, I see many things unhealthy on the other side.  I see many who blog about the merits of House or Simple or Non-IC church who emphasize what the believer needs to be doing instead of receiving.  This is NOT to say that we do not bear fruit that the Holy Spirit grows in us.  We bear fruit of good works that signal that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.  But the emphasis shouldn't be on how to build a better church, but about being faithful to what God has given us and acknowledge that He gives the growth.

I want to share a bit of scripture that I think many in the non-IC crowd will use to show what the church should be about, but is more promise than command, in my non-scholarly/ layman's view:

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" ⁷He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

 Jesus says that you WILL be my witnesses.  Not that you ought to be or that you need to be witnesses.  Our faith is a gift of God's.  We are all dead in trespasses and sins.  Only God through His Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins and brings us to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  He certainly works through His Church, but it He that gives the increase, not the Church that can increase itself.  It is His work.  Not ours.

So while I do have much to empathize with those have grown tired of the institutional church, for there are many things wrong with it,  they are emphasizing the wrong syllable, so to speak.  The focus shouldn't be on how to fix the Church, for we aren't able to...  for Christ is the one who is the author and perfecter of our faith.  The focus is to continue to trust God and His Word.  That He will never leave us nor forsake us.  And He will bring the increase.  Whether that be in our own faith or visible growth in the Church.

Church and the foolishness of relevance...

Growing your particular church or congregation by engaging in relevant marketing doesn't grow the kingdom of God.  But that is the current fad.  Relevance reigns supreme in many local churches nowadays.  Proclaiming Christ and Him crucified for our sins does grow the kingdom. That is what God uses to kill us and to regenerate us. He resurrects us. Spiritually, He raises us from the dead.  Law and Gospel.

People, who are dead in their trespasses and sins, who show up at a church focused on being relevant and not focused on Christ and His atoning sacrifice, end up being burdened with more law as they hear how can they can/ should better hear from God, can/ should be better parents, can/ should create better relationships, etc. We are comforted by how good we are, and how we almost have it. In some cases, we hear that we ourselves can totally do it. God meets us part of the way, all we have to do is just a couple of more things. Then we can arrive. Right. (Sarcastic tone, by the way). This is scratching itching ears.

St. Paul writes to Timothy:

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

2 Timothy 4:1-4  ESV

The biblical gospel goes something like this:

It starts off with some bad news. Really bad. We have screwed up. We have rebelled against God and His law. Romans 3 states that "None is righteous, no, not one; No one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no does good, not even one." Everything within a person is selfish, seeking its own glory.

The law requires that we love the Lord with all our hearts, love our neighbor as yourself. We all fail at both of these all the time. God's law states that we shall not murder (hate), lie, steal, covet, etc. We all fail at those, also. Bottom line: You are a sinner. So am I.

But it doesn't stop there. Thanks be to God. We are sinners in need of a savior. We have one in Jesus Christ. His blood covers our sin. His death and resurrection puts us in right standing before God. We all will stand in front of God. If we stand in front of Him in our own righteousness, we don't stand a chance. We can't be good enough.

Isaiah 64:6 is, perhaps, one of the most cited verses to show that we should not (and could not) rely on our own righteousness for our salvation. This leads to the concept of imputed righteousness of Christ to cover our unrighteousness. God offers the only solution – He sent His Son, Christ, a free gift from Him, and Christ pays the penalty of our sins.



We need preachers in our churches teaching this. Preaching the proper distinction of law and gospel. Preaching forgiveness of sins and repentance. Jesus and Him crucified. Instead, the vast majority of churches desire to be relevant, instead of being Jesus-centered. What is important is that they get more people in the door. Numbers are very important, if not ultimate.

Chris Rosebrough, of Pirate Christian Radio, put forth 95 New Theses. Seven of these theses hit the nail on the head when it comes the relevant machine that has infiltrated the church:

6. Relevance, self-help and pop-psychology have no power to work true contrition over sins and faith in Jesus Christ.

11. In the name of relevance, our Lord Jesus Christ is reduced to a life-coach whose “gospel” assists and motivates people to achieve the objectives of their self-centered delusions of grandeur.

25. Purveyors of relevance claim that self-help, life-applications and biblical principles are the means to reach the unchurched because they meet people’s felt needs.

26. Yet a person’s greatest need is one he does not by nature feel, namely the need for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

28. The true need that mankind is seeking but does not know is justification by grace through faith for Christ’s sake.

29. Since justification is through faith and not through works, natural man neither seeks it nor desires it.

30. Therefore, the teaching of justification by grace through faith is neither seeker-sensitive nor relevant to a world that naturally seeks self-justification.

Relevance in the Church is lethal. And it is viral. It has reached many parts of the Body. It has nothing to offer a person except more law. No gospel. No good news. Only death. Our hope is found in Christ and His work alone. Not ours.