A few weeks ago I preached a sermon based on Mark 9. Jesus said if your hand, foot or eye causes you to sin, cut it off. I told the congregation to consider what body parts they'd be left with if they had to cut off what made them sin. After worship, someone jokingly confessed they'd never speak again. They would have had to cut off their tongue.
I imagine that's true for a lot of us.
What is it about putting our foot in our mouth that is so common? We all say things we don't really mean. Words pour out that we didn't even know we were thinking. The maturing among us learn to acknowledge when that happens. We own up to what we've said and how it came across. Some stick to blaming others for taking things the wrong way.
We aren't given a specific circumstance behind the words of Psalm 39. The psalm's title says it's merely a psalm of David. Some have suggested the psalm relates to his experience with Bathsheba. Others suggest David is an older man reflecting on past experiences. We don't know what experience he had, but we know we can relate.
Listen to his opening words: I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth (Psalm 39:1).
A muzzle might come in handy sometimes, wouldn't you say?
Of course, there is no restraining device we can rely on. Instead, we have to look to God for that help. We ask the Lord for the strength to "not sin with my tongue." And this is where we're praying for the fruit of the Spirit to take root in our hearts. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control all have a way to prevent us from having to cut out our tongues.
Based on its etymology, you can say part of what it means to be arrogant is to be overbearing. An arrogant person can overwhelm others with their haughty attitudes and self aggrandizing. It can be much to listen to someone go on and on about how good they are, especially in relation to other people. To add injury to insult, arrogant people may rely on their lowly opinions of others to excuse or dismiss inappropriate behavior.
It's easy to mock someone you already think less of. Spend your time thinking too much of yourself and you're bound to belittle the people around you.
One word to associate with the message of the book of Obadiah is arrogance. Edom had been arrogant in their relation to Israel (even God). Edom refused to help Israel in their desert wandering (Numbers 20). One could, perhaps, chalk that up to sibling and tribal rivalry. But Obadiah's vision also includes other reminders. Edom joined Israel's enemies and even "gloated" over Israel's misfortune (Obadiah 12). Why this overbearing attitude and rejection of their brothers?
God already told them. "Your proud heart has deceived you" (3). Their lofty homes and, supposed, security fooled them. Who they were and what they believed about themselves comes out in their question, "Who will bring me down to the ground?" God was ready to.
What a reminder about our feelings. What you feel in your heart may be just that. Often, though, what you feel has a way of seeping through your life in ways you may not recognize yourself. Oh, but others see it. God certainly does. An arrogant heart has an uncanny way of dismissing the needs of others. Every man for himself, after all. But Edom's overbearing arrogance reminds us God cares about what is in our heart and how we care for others as a result.
When I attended seminary I also served a student appointment. That meant a full time school schedule and a (wink, wink) part time pastor's schedule. To say the least, if I wasn't at school, I was at church. And if I wasn't at church, I was at school. Consequently, in my four years in the DFW metroplex, I never got comfortable with the area, only my everyday route. I just wanted the GPS to take me where I wanted.
I forget where streets end up and what neighborhoods are where. If I traveled on my own, I'd be lost without the GPS device.
If the Bible is God's GPS, that sounds like a good thing to say about it. In one sense, it is. But I used the GPS incorrectly. In actuality, the GPS was a crutch. It kept me from truly knowing my way around. I only went where that machine voice told me to go. As a result, I missed so much of what makes those communities what they are.
Moses was leading God's people to a land they hadn't known. They would need to find their way around so they could "live long" in this unknown place. And God's commands would guide them to their new life. But not as a crutch. They had already learned something about their communion with God. "We have seen this day that God may speak to someone and the person may still live" (Deuteronomy 5:24). Now, the Lord's wisdom would show them how to flourish in their new home.
Likewise, God's word isn't some banal voice telling us where to go in the fastest time. It doesn't keep us from living life. But it's possible to read it that way. To just read it. To only go where we want and simply take a Bible with us. Thankfully, there's a better way to hear God.
Through the Spirit's inspiration, we can truly hear God leading our lives through this beautiful world to a newness and holiness we couldn't know otherwise.
I took one preaching class in seminary. In that class, I learned how to preach a five minute sermon, even though I rarely preach a five minute sermon. And our professor encouraged us to preach a series on the Ten Commandments. It took me a decade to finally get around to doing that. His recommendation was to not preach a sermon on the commandments, but a sermon on each commandment. So, earlier this year, I did just that. And I appreciated the chance to look at each commandment on its own.
It gave me a chance to highlight something Moses said to the people. My series focused mainly on the Exodus recording of the commandments. But, in Deuteronomy, Moses tells Israel to "learn them and be careful do them" (5:1b). Two things came to mind in that reflection.
First, to learn them doesn't only mean being able to recite them. For example, one of the commandments instructs the people to put no other gods before God. I can recite that easily. But can I identify the gods in my life or discern when I've put them before God? I can when I learn what the commandment means.
Secondly, recall that Moses is speaking to an entire community. A few of the divine words seems to focus on individual behavior. Coveting your neighbor's wife seems pretty personal. Otherwise, most of the other commandments could relate to entire communities.
Think of the graven image commandment. Don't we have a familiar story in scripture about all the people worshiping a golden calf? Likewise, whole communities can misuse God's name or dishonor the Sabbath. Learn the other commandments and you can see how they might apply to Christian communities as well. Take the other gods example. When nationalism finds itself front and center in worship, something's backwards.
While the wisdom of the Ten Commandments has a lot for you to reflect on and learn, there's a lot for us to chew on as well. We've got a lot of learning to do together.
In scripture, the image of a faithful marriage is a reflection of our communion with God. And God's faithfulness to us. Of course, the opposite is true, too. We know what adultery is and what it does to a family. Do we know what unfaithfulness does to God?
Thankfully, God receives his adulterine children.
But God also knows who we are. A parent can sense when her child just wants to return to good graces. The child will say they are sorry. They may even clean their room or take out the trash. When Mom or Dad seem satisfied, the child carries on like before.
God's people fit that bill. Israel had turned from God and Judah followed her example. Notice words like divorce, faithless and "prostituted herself" in today's reading. God saw how the people chose to live and saw their lives as adulterous. This was adultery in the extreme. Still, the Lord told Irsrael, "I am your husband" (Jeremiah 3:14).
Judah, apparently, said they were sorry. Who knows if they would have used apologetic words. At the very least, they knew what they could do to appease God. The Lord said, "Judah did not return to me with her whole heart but only in pretense" (Jeremiah 3:10). Most likely, their returning act including forms of worship. That was the central piece of their communion with God. So, they gave offerings. They listened to the words of the covenant. Maybe they even went to Sunday School and signed up for church committees :)
But they weren't interested in living out their covenant with God. As a result, the Lord says they are more guilty than Israel (3:11).
Today's passage gives us a chance to reflect on our worship and what we do with our lives. The question is worth asking, How faithful are we to God? To be sure, we aren't talking about mere religious practice. And I don't mean to suggest our faithfulness only amounts to our willingness to do "work" for God. Rather, what does our communion with God look like? Are we being true to who God is and what God has called us to be?
Praise the Lord, even when we haven't, the Lord receives us back!
I preach with a twofold goal I don't know I always fulfill. First, I want to inform, instruct and encourage. A listener shouldn't have to figure out what I'm talking about. There needs to be a clarity to what I say. But, secondly, I want you to leave a sermon wondering what else I meant. In a way, I want to point you towards more questions than certainty. Clarity and mystery should meet so that a message is more than a presentation or TED talk.
That's how I leave reading Paul's instructions on married life in 1 Corinthians. On one hand, there are straight forward thoughts. Don't divorce, mainly. Scripture doesn't promote or celebrate divorce. Still, there are exceptions where divorce is acceptable.
It's helpful to recognize Paul is addressing specific questions asked of him. And his responses may or may not be most helpful in all situations for us today. He's also aware of particular ideas circulating through the church. Some people would've argued it was their spiritual duty to divorce someone. No, it wasn't.
All that leaves questions for us to mull over.
For example, we often say divorce is acceptable in response to abuse. But where does Paul say that here? In the last several generations, people have often portrayed divorce as a one-sided issue. Women get a lot of that one-sided blame. But how many of those women finally recognized abuse for what it is? They decided to live with dignity and respect for themselves and that happened to include divorce. What would Paul's message be to them? And do we have to define what constitutes abuse? And there we go being one-sided again. What would Paul tell abusive husbands?
Paul also was ready for Christ's imminent return, which we're still waiting for. Would Paul have recognized irreconcilable differences for a couple after a few more years?
Now, none of these questions take away from what we know to be true of God's desires for our relationships. If we are growing in grace, if our lives are connected emotionally, physically and spiritually, why would God want that torn away from us? And who are we to tear it away?
You see?
More questions as we best discern how God wants us to live in peace with God and each other.
