Sermon Notes

Sunday 9th October 2005.

Imagine we are looking into a darkness so terrifying that we dare not stare into it for too long. It’s got depth that we cannot fathom, limitless end, boundless, boundary-less, it’s cold but that’s not why we have shivers down your spine.

Underneath us, far below, there’s water wrestling with itself, wave after wave journeying in darkness, colliding, building upon and assimilating as a chaotic uniformity. Noisy, but constant, a firm wind blowing.

And the spirit of God is there, ever present, ever sustaining, ever interacting with this cacophonous silence of antenatal time. And then the word.

The word spoken, the word existed before it was said, but it brought about existence through being spoken. The word, breaking this silence, this dissonant white noise bowing to it’s structure and form. It brings with it the very antithesis of the darkness. It brings with it the very antithesis of chaos, it brings with it the most important element for sustaining and nurturing life. Light itself.

“Let there be light” carried itself through the void and filled it with meaning. It filled it with warmth. It filled it with person. The word broke into the non-existence of the primordial and began the unfolding of history. It began the infusion of God and his breath into his creation. The son, Jesus Christ, pre-existent with the Father, makes himself known in the first revealing act.

“Let there be light” and out of nothing, a searing light casting shadows for the first time, refracts through the water, causing glaciers to crack in protest to the warmth coming from this burst of energy. Let there be light and the Word began the meaning of history.

The word, the word became flesh. The word is Jesus Christ, the Logos, the divine word, the first and final word, the only word.

Jesus, the divine reason for everything, the sustainer of creation. Is this the Jesus that we know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who intruded into our existence from beyond our understanding, the heart of God in a human heart, beating as an embryo, impregnated into a woman, compressed into a few cells, Jesus, beginning as a human, reliant on his mother’s placenta for nourishment, the Son of God absolutely physically reliant on his creatures. We celebrate the birth at Christmas. We celebrate a small baby in a manger and commercialise the event on Christmas cards. A cute little kid, with light shining from behind his head and being just cute. But crying for his mother’s affection, crying for his mother’s milk, crying because he’s tired, crying because he’s just pooed in his nappies. Small child, in his mother’s arms, the author of the universe, being sustained by his mother’s breast. No threat to anyone but the king who in desperate paranoia orders all children under 2 to be slaughtered. The massacre of the innocents because of the threat of this small child. This, the son of God.

This Jesus, the Jesus of human skin and bone, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus standing on the shores of a small river in the desert. A crowd of people, and only one recognizes who he is. John the Baptist, humbled at the sight of the Christ, humbled at the Word made flesh standing before him, the sustainer and author of life, asking to be baptized as a mere mortal by a mortal. John shuddering at the thought that he could even lay hands on him reaches out and baptizes. The most powerful being ever, kneeling in the water with his eyes closed, savouring the drops of the river water as they course their way through the contours of his face.

And the heavens opened up and a voice spoke out, and God said he was pleased with this man called Jesus, his son, and the spirit of God descended upon him, and people thought it looked kind of like a dove and they were amazed as they watched Jesus turn and walk toward the wilderness without saying much at all.

And in the wilderness he was tempted. Horrifically tempted, starved, sleep deprived, dehydrated and the devil did his damnedest to get the Christ to sin. Appealing to his human body, appealing to his human spirit, appealing to his divinity to get just him to move slightly away from God-ness. To tip the balance of his truly human truly divine nature into one of confusion and uncertainty.

This Jesus, the Jesus who weathered the worst temptations, and defeated the devil in the desert place, is this the Christ you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus reaching out and touching people who came to him with their afflictions. Moved by compassion, moved by burning love for his beloved creation, moved by his desire to be reconciled, there he was, reaching out to them. With one touch, with one word, with one action they would be healed and find healing for others. He could heal people in a far off city, he could heal people with mud, he could heal people by simply having them touch his cloak as he was walking past. He could throw the demons out, grow limbs back, destroy the skin diseases, bring a voice to people, let them hear, and see and speak and leap and run.

And he would turn water into wine to help out a friend, he would feed five thousand people with only a couple of fish and some loaves of bread and he would walk on water and calm the storm and tell trees whether they had permission to live or die.

This Jesus, this provider of miracles, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus the jesus who stood in the middle of the religious institution of the day, condemning them for having no heart, condemning what people like you and me had done to their faith and relationship with God, condemning them for having all the morals but no reasons for it except for pride and puffing themselves up. Racing around the temple one day, turning over the tables, wreaking havoc, nearly inciting a riot, getting angry at how worshipping God had become a commodity to trade.

He would hang out with prostitutes, and dishonest businessmen. He would dine with those who were addicted to alcohol or drugs or sex or whatever. He would choose their company at times over and above the company of the more respected in society. He would touch the leper, the unclean, the socially despised, the impoverished and he would even say to them, those people at the bottom of the heap : “you are blessed, because the kingdom of God has been given to you.” They were blessed and they knew he meant it. He gave hope and assurance and peace of mind to many who could never have it, because his heart beat in perfect synchronicity with the world he was walking through.

This Jesus, the friend of sinners, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who preached about justice and mercy, who practiced it to perfection, who stood before the crowd and told them they had no right to execute justice over small issues because they had issues the size of planks in their own eyes that they needed to deal with. Who stood by a woman who was caught in adultery and advocated for her, though she had committed a significant sin : a sin against her husband, her community and her God : he stood by her side in front of the angry mob and quietly asked them to move on because according to their justice they should all be stoned too.

He was tested by the intelligentsia of a nation, answered difficult questions designed to trap him, responded to their heart’s yearnings and not their social importance. He entertained one of them in the night and talked about new beginnings. He talked about new life. He talked about the way to reconnect with God. He called the lowly fishermen, and asked them to follow him, and had endless patience with them even when they clearly misunderstood him and his message.

This Jesus, the lover of the humble, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who taught with stories and imagery so that everyone could understand, but still the so called wise got confused. Who called for the rich to be generous, the poor to feel blessed, the women to be validated, the uneducated to become wise. As he spent days and days doing the circuit, explaining the incredible nature of the new kingdom he had in mind for this world. He taught about racial tension, riches, inequality, religiousity, stereotyping, discipline, divorce and remarriage, love, sex, justice, how unimportant this life can be in the scheme of things, heaven, did I mention love, reconciliation to the heart of God, holiness, redemption, being clean again, living in freedom, love again, repentance, desiring to connect with God, humility, being real…and we’re just scratching the surface. Where he talks about his burden being light compared to the burden we are carrying. Who talks about us being his feet and hands and heartbeat in this world, bearing the fearsome responsibility of being the practical outworking of his love in this world, who commissions us to carry on where he left off. The Author of life, wants us to continue his work.

This Jesus, dumbfounder of the wise, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who prayed in the quiet of the night, who wanted so desperately to do the will of the Father until he sweated what looked like blood, who prayed agonizingly into his father’s will, stripping the reluctance away with prayer, and then went peacefully after he had been betrayed by one of his close friends. Who stood before a mock trial and bit his tongue, who was accused of things he didn’t actually do, who was such a threat to the politics of the day though he had not lifted a finger, the great pacifist rebel, who was not actually a lawbreaker or self-seeking.

Who stood before the Roman governor who treated him like he was nothing. Who stood before his own people and was rejected in favour of a murderer, who was whipped for no reason except to placate the authorities, who was spat on, mocked by soldiers who were thugs, insulted by the crowds as he carried his cross through the streets : the same crowds that a week or so earlier had called him their king.

Who was deserted by people who had claimed that they would follow him even unto death, even his closest friends were nowhere to be seen, and when he did see them, they denied even knowing him. Who on this darkest journey to the cross endured all the scorn, all the dissatisfaction of life, all the angst forged from the injustice of life, who weathered all the jeering and the separation as ordinary people tried to squash his ego into the ground at their feet, all of this even while the soldier hammered the nails into his wrists and ankles, agonizing blow after agonizing blow as his bones were dislocated, as he was roughly lifted up and felt the tearing strain on his ligaments as his body sagged toward the ground. Struggling to breathe. Silent. Darkness. Scorned by a thief who hung next to him. Exhausted yet still enough love to show mercy to the other thief who knew exactly who he was.

And the sin of this world, permeating every pore of his skin, every part of his spirit soaking up this awful condition of humankind. Rotting his holiness away. A tremendous conflict inside him, a war of ideology, holiness and sin, cohabitating for a time in this one locus. And the cry, “God, you’ve left me! Why?” And he breathes his last.

This Jesus, our deliverer from sin, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who told us about the end of the world, about how he was winning this battle, about how he would die and rise again, how he would destroy the Jewish temple and rebuild it differently, about how he would come again, for the final act of history in this world where evil would be finished, once and for all, who called himself the redeemer, who prophets had talked about centuries before, who was going to bring about a new world where he would reign for eternity.

Who talked about the judgement of God upon that day of everyone who ever existed, who judges even those who claim to be his followers and he will deal harshly with the fakes and the frauds, the people who think they look good but have rotten hearts and motives, who do all the right things but fail in the heart to acknowledge and to respond to Jesus as their author. Who will not tolerate sin in any form, yet will dish out grace and mercy abundantly. Who is to be feared by the devil and those who choose his ways.

This Jesus, the ultimate judge of humankind, is this the jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

Jesus, the Jesus who rose from the grave, appeared to women first, and then the men on the road, and then burst through walls into a locked room and challenged those who were there to believe by touching his wounds. Who restored those who had deserted him gently but firmly, who spent a few weeks just getting it into their heads that he was alive, had control over death, had control over sin, had made the path straight and the difficult road easy. People could come bounding to God through his work.

Who barbequed fish on the beach for his mates, and told them that they now had the power to do what he has done and to just get on and do it. Who then ascended into heaven to take his rightful place at the side of the Father. Who commissioned the holy spirit to come and be our comforter, our helper, our conscience, our healer, our personal and often private interaction with God. This Jesus, the risen saviour, is this the Jesus you know? Have you heard of him?

It’s my statement of faith about Jesus. It’s my statement of faith about the man I have rediscovered in the last couple of years. It’s my statement of faith about the one who has held my head in his hands and comforted me, “Stu, I really like you.” It is in this faith I have confidence, not just about heaven : I actually don’t think much about the afterlife, but I have confidence that this life is not all in vain, that there is a reason to do good, that people are more than just people, but that they are every bit as worth saving as myself.

It’s my statement of faith that I will come back to time and time again. It’s a reference point, a reminder when I’m going skewiff, on a tangent, missing the point. If this happens I look back and say this is who Jesus is. This is what my faith is about.

I believe strongly in getting the fundamentals right. I think it’s easy to construct our faith on misinformation or partial truths, and while I don’t believe that anyone has got this whole thing sown up neatly, I do believe that there is no greater journey in life than getting to know Jesus better. Because when we embark on that journey, our lives will be changed.

If Jesus has inspired you today, then come and see us afterwards. Let me know, or let someone next to you know. We can celebrate together the wonder of this mystery revealed.

We’re going to finish by singing a creed. It’s in keeping with a long tradition of the Christian church where creeds were the first hymns. They sang songs about what they believed and this particular song is based on the Nicene creed that was formulated in 325. It is a summary statement of what we believe as Christians. It’s a measuring stick. And it’s a good opportunity for us to take stock of our identity as Christians.

You’ll recognise the tune from Baby Einstein’s Beethoven DVD, the movie Die Hard, or Sister Act. The words have been set to Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s ninth Symphony. Nail your colours to the mast, stand together and sing about what our faith is about.