There is a power that is contained within the spoken word. We see the results of
the power of the spoken word in our American history.
At the
dedication of the Gettysburg
National Cemetery, the nation was exhausted from a civil war. Hundreds
of thousands of men, women, and children had lost their lives. PRESIDENT ABRAHAM
LINCOLN spoke at the dedication of that national cemetery. He spoke these words:
“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a
new nation, conceived in liberty...” Those words caught the people’s imagination, and renewed their commitment
to seeing that they once again would be one nation.
In the
face of Axis tyranny another President, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, declared: “The only
thing we have to fear is fear itself...” And as a result, Americans in communities large and small f0und an abundant
reserve of courage to face the challenging times.
Another
President, JOHN KENNEDY, in his inaugural address declared: “Ask not what your
country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” As
the result a new generation of Americans joined the Peace Corps in order to assist undeveloped nations.
At the
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, a preacher named MARTIN LUTHER KING raised the nation’s vision when he
spoke these words: “I have a dream...”
There is
power in the spoken word. Once the word is spoken, it releases a mysterious power
that can embrace people and call them to action. And
the listeners, they can only respond. Even
if they try to shake off the intensity of those words, they still cannot ignore them. Their
lives have been changed by the power of the spoken word.
In the
late first century A.D., another preacher preached a sermon. That sermon we call the Letter to the Hebrews. That unnamed preacher preached to a church that was seeking to inspire a new generation
of Christians. Many of those disciples that had known Jesus were dying out. The remaining leaders wondered if this
new generation would be up to the task of proclaiming the gospel in their time. A
few years before, many of their Jewish members had been forced to flee Rome by order of the
emperor Claudius. And those remaining
in Rome had faced a disinterested culture and declining church attendance.
That preacher
in seeking what he was to say to his congregation, remembered how God had spoken and how creation had sprung forth. He also remembered, from hearing the reading of the Hebrew Scriptures, that God
had continued speaking throughout the centuries. God had spoken to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had spoken to Moses, Joshua,
King David, Solomon, and all those prophets that had called the nation to repentance. God had spoken through many varied means—through dreams and visions—signs—from
the midst of a burning bush—from within a cloud and a fire. And most recently
God had spoken through the angels.
Perhaps
he paused for a moment before preaching the next words—words through which he would declare the scope of the gospel
message. He declared, “But
in these last days he has spoken by a Son, whom he has appointed the heir of all things, through which he created the world.”
The preacher believed all history was rapidly coming to a close and that God’s purposes had been realized in Jesus.
It therefore would be only a matter of time before God would transform the world into the world that God had envisioned it
to be.
He wanted
to convey that God’s Son was unique because of the unique status that he had been granted. And, in doing so he pulled
back the veil and revealed to the listeners the grand scheme of God’s plan for all creation.
1)
FIRST OF ALL, HE DECLARED THAT GOD’S SON HAD STOOD
AT THE BEGINNING OF CREATION, AND THAT HE WOULD BE STANDING WHEN ALL OF CREATION WOULD BE TRANSFORMED.
Further,
God’s Son had been the very agent of creation—the power with which God had created the heavens and the earth.
John Calvin once
described the relationship between God the Father, and God the Son, as like that between a commanding General and a Lieutenant.
God like the commanding officer issues orders to the Lieutenant, and the Lieutenant carries out those orders. Calvin therefore
said that “Christ is the Lieutenant of God.”
Another
writing in the New Testament, The GOSPEL OF JOHN, later echoed the claims of Christ’s pre-existence and his part
of creation when he wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God...All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
Moreover,
the preacher of Hebrews declared, it is by the Son’s power that all creation is sustained. By the Son’s sustaining
power, creation is kept from falling back into chaos. For creation was not just a once in a time act; but rather creation
is constantly changing and is an ongoing process. It is not a static process, but a dynamic process.
2) SECONDLY, THE PREACHER DECLARED, “He
is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being...”
The other night Mickey and I went to hear the WV Sympathy. As I was listening to their performance, I noticed the intensity
and commitment of the individual musicians. Each of them, of course, had
their own unique personalities. But while they were playing the music,
all of their being, their concentration, and their skill was committed to fulfilling the vision of the composer. The vision of the composer had shown through the performance of the musicians.
In a sense, Jesus’ life has been a total performance of God’s life—Jesus’
life has totally communicated the essence of God’s being. He has
done so without a break—without a false note—without a stumble.
As the
NICENE CREED says, he is “Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten
not made; of the same being as the Father; by whom all things came to be.”
Never in
the Old Testament had people ever been able to see God. For they believed
that to see God’s glory would cause them to die in that blinding light. Therefore, in order to protect humanity, God
always spoke from a burning bush, a cloud, or a pillar of fire. And yet
in Jesus Christ, we see God’s face in the face of Jesus Christ. We
see God appearing in earthly form.
3) THIRDLY,
BECAUSE OF HIS PERFECT COMMUNION WITH GOD, WE SEE IN CHRIST HIS PERFECT LIFE AS A HUMAN BEING.
As persons
draw closer in communion with God, such persons are more truly human. As persons move away from God, such persons become less
human. And Christ was not only fully God, but Christ also was fully human.
Christ is the perfect example of what God desires for us all be.
And God
had chosen that this perfect human being would be the one who would make purification for humanity’s sins. Throughout the rest of the sermon of Hebrews the preacher will expound on Jesus’ sacrificial
role more fully.
4) FINALLY,
WHEN THE SON HAD COMPLETED HIS WORK—GOD THEN RAISED HIM, EXALTED HIM, AND APPOINTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN HEAVEN
BESIDE GOD.
God designated
that the Son would sit at God’s right hand—the place of honor in the throne room and at the dinner table. And Christ exalted, he would rule over heaven and earth.
The BOOK
OF REVELATION expressed this thought in declaring that Christ is the “Alpha and the Omega,” Alpha and Omega
being the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is the beginning and
the end of all that is. Christ is the eternal, cosmic Lord of all creation.
Saint Augustine once wrote about heaven
as that realm where “we shall rest and we shall see, we shall see and we shall
love, and we shall praise. Behold what will be at the end without end? For what other end do we have, if not to reach the
kingdom which has no end.” (Augustine of Hippo, City of God, XXII, 30)
Today Christ
bids us, come. He bids to us to come, come join the feast.
Come, bids Christ, come, come and join me about the heavenly table.
Come,
bids Christ, come, come join me, and know the presence of all those who have been made one in the Father.
Come,
bids Christ, come away from the strains, stresses, and sorrows—all of which bears humanity down.
Come, come, come let us break the bread, and let us drink from the cup.
Come,
let us celebrate the feast of salvation.
And so, O Christ, we come. We come.
