Letting Ourselves Catch Fire

(Luke 24.13-32)

A sermon preached by Dave Shull

Spirit of Peace United Church of Christ

Sammamish, Washington

The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 29, 2010

The tenth in a summer series on topics you’ve asked to hear addressed in sermons.

This morning’s sermon is a response to the question,
“How is the Bible the word of God, especially with so many different translations?”

Catherine Swadley would like to know, “How is the Bible the word of God, especially with so many different translations?”

I see these as two separate questions. The first question is, How is the Bible the word of God? In other words, how do we “hear” God in the Bible? The second question is, What’s up with all the different translations of the Bible? At last Monday’s book discussion, Catherine expanded this question by asking, Who decided what books would be in the Bible and what books would be left out? And what did they base their decisions on?

This morning, we will live into the first question together. And we’ll explore the second half of the question next week.

How is the Bible the word of God?

The Bible is the word of God when it lights us on fire. When we hear a story that ignites our passion or stirs us at our core, the Bible is the word of God. When we hear a story in the Bible that moves us to tears, gets us royally enraged, or leaves us utterly speechless, the Bible is the word of God for us. When we hear a tory that calls us on an inward or outward journey that changes us in ways we don’t expect or want, the Bible is the word of God for us. It doesn’t matter what kind of fire it is. It could be an inferno ... or softly burning coals. But we know the Bible is the word of God when it lights a fire in us.

Seventeen hundred years ago, the desert Christians told this story. [The very cautious] Abbot Lot came to Abbot Joseph and said: ‘Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, my meditation and contemplative silence; and according as I am able I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do?’ The elder [monk] rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: ‘Why not be changed totally into fire?’
(John Neafsey, A Sacred Voice is Calling, Orbis Press, 2006, p. 80).

Let go of your lukewarm, moderate, reasonable faith, Abbot Lot. Let the word of God turn you into fire.

This morning’s story from the Gospel of Luke says the same thing.

Listen for a word from God.

The day Jesus rose from the dead, two of his disciples were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, "What's this you're discussing so intently as you walk along?"

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn't heard what's happened during the last few days?"

He said, "What has happened?"

They said, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn't find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn't see Jesus."

Then he said to them, "So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can't you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don't you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?" Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: "Stay and have supper with us. It's nearly evening; the day is done." So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. "Didn't we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?"
(Luke 24.13-32, The Message Re-Mix (c) 2003 Eugene Peterson).

May God help us hear and live this word. Amen.

Of course Cleopas and his friend felt on fire as this stranger shared God’s word with them on the road! They’d put all their hope, love, and faith in Jesus. And he’d been killed. Their world had come crashing down. God had abandoned them. But now, the living word of God had come to them! The risen Christ had sought them out. He’d reminded them of how God was always reaching out to heal the lost and broken. This is what the stories of their faith assured them of. These were the promises of the God whom death could not conquer. Walking beside the living Word of God, Cleopas and his friend let themselves catch fire.

Two thousand years later that word has the power to make us catch fire. If we let it.

Friday night I sent a note to everyone on the church e-mail list. I told you what I was preaching about today. And I asked if you had a story about a way the Bible is the word of God for you. How is something in the Bible a burning word for you? How has something in the Bible captured your imagination? How is something in the Bible healing you, disturbing you, changing you, drawing you into deeper loving, or turning your world upside-down?

I’d like to share a story of one way the Bible is the word of God for me. And then ask any of you who wish to do the same.

In 1989, Peter and I spent two weeks in Nicaragua. The house we stayed in was owned by a church that wanted to show Christians from the United States how the rebels our government supported were terrorizing poor Nicaraguans. The name of this house was Casa Amanecer. House of the Dawn. Our hosts told us the inspiration for their work came from the book of Isaiah. They had a banner hanging in their living room with a portion of the 58th chapter of Isaiah in Spanish. For 21 years, these words have burned in me.

God says, This is what pleases me:
If you break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace
free the oppressed,
and cancel debts ...
if you share your food with the hungry,
invite the homeless poor into your homes,
put clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
[and make yourselves] available to your own families,
then your light will blaze out like the dawn ...
(The Message Re-Mix and The New Jerusalem Bible).

These blazing, turning-me-into-fire words are the word of God for me. They have led me to work for the past 3.5 years with homeless people in recovery. They shape who I vote for and where I give my money. They continue to fuel my deepest passion: to help create a community whose members commit themselves to put this risky love into flesh in ways I know I can’t do alone.
What about you? What words from the Bible make you catch fire?
stories

For now, one final story. It’s one I’ve told before. Of a client I’ll call “Dorothy” I worked with at a family counseling center on the south side of Chicago.

She had been abused as a child and young adult. One of her sons had been murdered and one was in prison. She took care of her dead son’s young daughter. She lived with schizophrenia. And lived in poverty. Once I asked, “Dorothy, what keeps you going?”

She answered, “I get tired, Dave. And at times I feel like giving up. But then I remember Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, and Daniel in the fiery furnace. And how even in the flames, God was with them. And God saved them. Dave, my faith keeps me going. My faith gives me hope.” Then Dorothy closed her eyes, and sang ...

I don’t feel no-ways tired.
I’ve come too far from where I started from.
No one ever told me the road would be easy ...
I don’t believe he brought me this far to leave me.

Amen.