I was privileged to preach the Friday morning meditation at our District Convention. The theme was Thy Strong Word, based on hymn #578.
Jesu Juva
“As It Was in the Beginning, It Will Be Again”
Genesis 1:1-2:2; LSB #578 v. 1
Alleluia! Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluia!
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Thy Strong Word did cleave the darkness.
And order was given to an earth without form and void. Light, water, land, and plants; sun, moon, stars, and galaxies; seasons, sea creatures, birds, beasts, and livestock; and finally, man and woman in the image of God. And it was good. And all together, it was very good. How could anything from God be otherwise? How could anything of God be otherwise?
At Thy speaking it was done.
For the Word of God is living and active. It is a Spirit-filled Word. What God speaks is truth. What He speaks happens. But not just in calling things into being. God speaks blessing, too. His first beatitudes, blessing the creatures He had made, blessing His man and woman, the crown of His creation, the ones bearing His image on earth. And it was so. They were blessèd. Saints. Holy ones. How could it be otherwise?
But it was soon otherwise. For soon, a new word, a new speaking. Not at THY speaking it was done, but at MY speaking it was done. The speaking of the one who does not create, but corrupts. Speaking that does not order, but twists. That is not true, but a lie. A word that is not strong, not filled with power and life, but a word that only pretends to bless and robs of life. The word of the one who is not a trinity of love and giving, but a singularity of self-obsession, self-idolatry, and hate. At MY speaking it is done, is his hissing boast.
And sadly, it was. At his twisting, tempting, anti-Word word, what he wanted was done. Holy ones doing what is not holy. Saints being sinners. Ones already blessed, seeking blessing outside the Word of God. And it was not good.
And it still isn’t. This word, this thought, this temptation planted into our minds still today: not THY Word but MY word. My thoughts, my opinion, my desire that at MY speaking it is done. My word at home, at work, in church, at the microphone at a District Convention. My word to get my way. My word to create my own reality, my own identity. My word the final word. Satan’s self-obsession, self-idolatry, living on in the sin which curves us in on ourselves. Like a black hole. Those mysterious holes in the universe which suck everything in on themselves. Which not even light can escape. So praise to me who darkness dost send?
A darkness, as you all well know, that is deep and getting deeper in our world today. Creation treated as god. Animals treated like people, and people acting like animals. Confusion regarding sexuality on so many levels and getting worse. The rejection of any notion of objective truth. Each person defining their own truth, which means each person being their own god. Add to that the darkness of my sin. The darkness of my death. Where is Thy Strong Word to cleave this darkness? To cleave the head off this satanic snake?
You know. Because you know that Strong Word was not just the beating of vocal cords and sounds waves flying through the air. Thy Strong Word is a person. First and foremost a person of the Trinity, but then also the Word made flesh. Jesus.
Where is Thy Strong Word to cleave this darkness that enshrouds our world today? You know. He is in the manger and on the cross. He is in the font and on the altar. He is in the pulpit. He is wherever the Gospel is spoken, poured, or eaten. And through these means, His life given for you and to you, His blood shed for you and given to you, cleaving the darkness of your sin and death with the light of His life, love, and forgiveness. Light greater than any darkness.
So For created light we thank Thee, yes. But even more, for the uncreated Light we thank Thee, the Light from Light, we say in the Creed, who came into His creation by the same Spirit who hovered over the waters in the beginning. To once again bring order to a world plunged into disorder. Into lives disordered and disoriented. Into your life. To once again speak not a truth, but the truth. A Word which does what it says. A Word which is and does only good. A word of life. A word of blessing. A word of forgiveness for me and my belief in my weak word not Thy Strong Word.
And it is so. Forgiveness. New life. Hope. Peace. Thy Strong Word, Jesus, still blessing and sustaining creation. Thy Strong Word, Jesus, still blessing and sustaining His Church. Thy Strong Word, Jesus, still cleaving the darkness. For a new day. A new day for a new creation. For a you made new. An Eighth Day. The eternal day. The day of resurrection. The day when all things are made new. The day when it will no longer be said, and there was evening and there was morning, no more while thine ordered seasons run. For as the last chapter in Scripture tells us, night will be no more. There will be no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be our light (Revelation 22:5). As it was in the beginning, it will be again, in the end. Perfect. Holy. Blessèd. How could it be otherwise?
For Christ is risen! [He is risen indeed! Alleluia!] Alleluias without end!
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment