Read the Letter

I continue my sermon series The Last Thing on My Mind with three messages of Gospel Practices.  These are nine things that Christian people do when we gather. I have named them in a way that helps us remember them: bible-reading, gospel-telling, convert-dipping, supper-eating, hymn-singing, prayer-lifting, money-giving, ballot-casting, and hand-shaking. Which of these nine are most important to congregational life? Which of these are most necessary when we gather?

I have chosen three: bible-reading, prayer-lifting, and hymn-singing.

I am sure some of you would pick a different three.  And there is no right or wrong to the question I pose. I could include supper-eating, if it includes both the Lord’s Supper in the sanctuary as well as the Fellowship Supper somewhere else.  I can see why gospel-telling would rank high, as it includes for the personal testimony (“Here is what Christ has done for me.”) as well as the gospel sermon.

But I have chosen to give attention, in this series of sermons, on reading the Bible, praying together, and singing together.  Today, my mind is on reading the Bible, together, when we gather for worship, for study, for meditation, and for discernment.

I.

You have a Bible in your hand. Many of you own the copy you are holding. Many of you own multiple copies of the Bible. I think I have told you the story of the VBS children one year who asked me how many Bibles were in my study at the church. Together, we counted 42. This may be common now, especially among ministers and scholars, but it was not always the case. It was not the case in the time of Jesus and Paul. In those days, most people could neither read nor write and they did not own manuscripts.

Remember when Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, went home to Nazareth? He went to the synagogue as was his custom, the text says. “He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it was written, ‘The spirit of the lord is on me …’”  The scroll was a large and long parchment, rolled on a central staff.  Each synagogue had one; it was kept in a cupboard; it was brought out at a specific time during the Jewish worship service. Much of this ritual is still done this way in Jewish temples and synagogues.

When Paul wrote to the people of Colossae, it was the same way. At the end of his letter, Paul urged them to read aloud in the assembly his letter, then send the letter to another church, the one in Laodicea, and then read the one Paul had written to the church at Laodicea. That is, reading documents describing Jesus as savior and risen Lord and how followers of Jesus were supposed to live was a regular part of their gatherings, of their assemblies.

Christians inherit our love for written literature from the Jews and we pattern our reading of holy books after Jewish practice. From the very beginning, reading the sacred and inspired writings has been a part of our public spiritual formation.

Today, we have had three readings. This is common throughout the Christian world: a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a reading from the Gospels, and a reading from some other portion of the Bible, perhaps the letters of Paul, the Revelation to John, or the Psalms. When there is no preacher, we can read; when there is no teacher, we can read. As long as there is one literate person, Christian people can read the Bible.

II.

But why do this? Why read the Bible?

First, reading the Bible puts us in our place! Reading the Bible puts us in the divine narrative of the history of the world. Reading the Bible reminds us of what is going on in the world and what is really important.

We are a part of many stories. You and I are part of a family history, and this has become quite popular: finding your roots and learning your story. You and I are part of a national story, and for us it is very important. Our ancestors came to this country; some built towns and cities in the wilderness; other were pioneers and settled Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and everything to the coast. We have fought wars, faced danger, started businesses, survived death. We have a family story. We also have a secular story. It begins with a big bang, uses the word evolution, and tells us How we are related to other forms of life. Young people learn this in school. It is an important story.

But the most important story is the story of God. What is God doing in the world, for the world, and through the world. I tried to trace this with what I called the Christian Worldview: creation, corruption, redemption, election, and consummation. This is the story of God, and we are part of it, and we read about it in the Bible. Paul begins this letter to the Colossians with these words, “To God’s holy people in Colossae” which means “To the elect, the chosen, those invited to join God’s mission in the world.” You are part of that great story.

Where are you in that story?

Think about the last few verses of this four-chapter letter. I read it to you a few moments ago. Do you recall any of the names mentioned? Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Jesus Justus, Epaphras and our dear friend Luke. “Greet Nympha and the church in her house.” I wonder: if somebody was writing a letter about gospel work in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and listed those who were active and effective and worthy of imitation, would you be listed? Would you be named as a faithful teacher, a reliable worker, a steady encourager, an effective reader, a generous giver, an inspirational singer, the one who is always ready to greet the visitor, the traveler, the seeker? Would your name be in the letter read to the assembly? Don’t you want to be a part of that story?

III.

In my list of nine Gospel Practices, I put Bible-reading first. I don’t mean it should be the first thing in the order of worship. No, not t hat: I mean it should be included in all Christian gatherings. One verse, one psalm, one parable, one warning, one prophecy, one announcement: “He is not here. He is risen from the dead.”

This is the word of God. When you hear the Scripture being read, what you hear is the voice of God. This is what we mean when we say, the word is God Breathed, which is the meaning for the word “inspired.” This is not your tax accountant; this is not your coach; this is not somebody who wants to be president; this is not your parents. This is the voice of God, the word of God, the message of God.

When you are troubled, and somebody reads the words of Jesus, "My peace I leave with you,” it is God speaking to you. When, you are defeated and ready to give up and then somebody reads the testimony of Paul, “We are hard pressed but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; struck down but not destroyed.” That is God’s word for you.

When you are guilty, when you have sinned, when you have disappointed yourself, your friends, and your God, somebody stands up in the assembly and reads psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me bless your holy name and forget not all your benefits, for the Lord forgives all your sins.” That is the gospel word for you.

When you are confused about your life, remember the words of Jesus, “Come, follow me.” When you are grieving the loss of a friend, somebody can read quietly that great psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The Lord makes me lie down in green pastors and leads me beside quiet water and refreshes my soul.” That is the word from the Lord you need to hear.

Are you afraid today? Of the future, of death, of danger, of defeat. All around us are the voices of fear. In fact, both political campaigns, on the right and on the left, are full of fear. Both of them are telling us, “If they win, America is done!”  In the midst of all this babble, somebody in your circle of faith reads for you the Word of God, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in God.”

This is why we read the Bible.

The best illustration I know of this is what happened to the smartest guy in the realm. He was a skeptic, an unbeliever, a worldly and lustful man. But one day, while sitting in a garden, he heard a voice from somewhere, say, “Take up and read. Take up and read.” Near him was a copy of a Christian writing, Paul’s letter to the Romans. This is what he read, “Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.” That was Augustine of Hippo, in northern Africa. The year was 386. He was baptized and became the most learned and influential writer in the history of the Christian movement. Later, in his confessions, he wrote these words, “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

Are you restless today? Are you fearful? Are you anxious? Are you hesitant? Are you weary? You need a word from the Lord. You need somebody to read the Bible. You need somebody in this congregation, in this gathering, in this Christian assembly to read from the Bible, that God might speak to you what you need to hear.

Everything else we do is the human voice. When somebody gives a testimony or a sermon, it is another person. When we baptize or serve communion, it is a minister talking. When we gather for discernment and cast ballots, it is other people one by one that speak and offer judgment. But when we open the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, it is the Word of God. It is what we need to hear. It is what we need to live. It is what we need to die: die to self and live for Christ, die to sin and live to righteousness, die to worry and sing for joy, and die to despair and live with hope.