You Are The Letter of God
Today we are gathered together on our lawn on this 3rd Sunday of Pentecost to provide opportunity for something different. A nod to the season of summer that is quickly approaching and a time to worship together combining our 8 am. and 10 am service so that those who worship separately each week have a time to come together and worship together - to see those you may not regularly get to see and spend time getting to know someone that you may not know. The design of this service and day is to enjoy each other, to fellowship, to break the bread and to experience God’s creation a little differently - as part of our worship for the day.
“Mayday”, “Mayday” “Mayday”, are three words that no one wants to ever have to utter - those three words signal distress to those around you who are tuned in to you or are listening to the same radio channel as you. Everyone immediately recognizes it as a call for help and those hearing the message will respond appropriately as they can to offer assistance.
“Mayday” communicates, “I need help - I am in trouble over here”. These are words you never want to have to speak.
There are times to speak and there are times to keep quiet.
Determining the difference between these two is the greater part of wisdom.
We are becoming, and have become, a nation of people who are afraid of speaking. We don’t want to offend anyone or we may say it is not our business (and it may not be); we do not want to appear judgmental and/or we may just not want to become involved. All of these times of lack of speaking or action can have their time and place. But there are also moments when you need to speak and not speaking is not a helpful. When you don’t speak you deny others a chance to learn and to grow, a chance for dialogue. It can be tricky. And it does require wisdom.
For us as Christians we need to ask ourselves, Why do we speak? How do we speak? What do we speak? When do we speak?
In 2 Corinthians today in Paul’s second letter to the church of Corinth, he quotes a piece of a Psalm, Psalm 116:10, “I believed, and so I spoke.”
I believed so I spoke. Paul says it in the present tense: and so, “We also believe and so we speak.”
Paul is encouraging the Corinthians, encouraging them on how to be and how to grow.
A bit earlier in this letter to the Corinthians he wrote,
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are human hearts.”
Paul is saying to them - we don’t need to use speech to tell you how to be do we? You can see and know. You - your lives should speak for themselves. My life speaks for itself.
You yourselves are a letter, written on our own hearts.
You are a letter of Christ written with the Spirit of the living God on tablets of the human hearts. We know that we are for one another and with one another and a part of Christ together. We know this.
You are a letter of Christ.
But there comes a time when this letter of Christ must be spoken, read, shared. “We also believe, and so we speak.”
This is at the heart of Christian speech. Our speech should flow from our belief; we speak because we believe.
As I sailed this week I was on board with two others and the Captain. We all came from different places and have had different experiences in the world. It is part of what I love about sailing. Meeting and experiencing new people. So they asked about me and my faith. We talked and shared as we sailed.
We were able to speak together.
What have you spoken this week? Do your words reflect what you say you believe? Did your words, (do your words?) reflect the love of Christ that indwells you?
Often we fall short of Paul’s word. We don’t speak. We become timid, afraid of speaking about our faith. Afraid we may offend or nervous that we won’t say the right thing or be interpreted wrongly. Paul encourages us to speak. To not just “preach with our lives”. Sometimes we have to use words.
We as Episcopalians have long loved the quote attributed to St. Francis – “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” And I love that we acknowledge that our lives should and do speak for us. But at times it is necessary to begin speaking our belief.
So the young man on our trip began asking me, “So what are you exactly?” And thus began our conversation. He was unfamiliar with any sort of religious thought that was different from the very rigid religious belief system he was somewhat familiar with, from the region where he grew up. He had dismissed religion and practice all together.
We have to speak. It is time to speak. There is a letter written on your heart. The world needs us to speak. We need to offer light to the world that is spinning. What do we speak? It should go something like this,
“You are beloved, dear child. God loves you. God created you. God redeemed you. God called you by name and you are not alone in this life nor in your death. Your sins are forgiven. You are washed clean, made new. You are loved. God loves you just as you are! Now go live and tell others.”
Listen to what is written on your heart. And you can learn to speak from there. That is all that God asks of you. Speak what you know. (and so make sure you know something - spend time deepening your walk with God and allowing God to shape you).
How can the world know that there is a family of God waiting for them and willing to welcome them with open hearts unless we tell them? With words.
So let’s tell them.
And let’s not be divided.
In our Gospel passage from Mark today, Jesus has been accused of being in league with the prince of demons, of having Belzebul, the ruler of the demons. Jesus says that is ridiculous - why would Satan cast out Satan? (Jesus was casting out demons - why would he do that if he himself was in cahoots with Satan?) “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”
He goes on and redefines family - as those who sat around him, those who were listening to him - who desired to hear what he had to say. Here are my mother and my brothers! Look around. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Look around. This is your family. This is your brother and sister and mother.
Let’s be here for one another. And the world around us. And let’s use our words and speak.
The letter is written on your hearts. Go and let others know about it.
Amen.
“Mayday”, “Mayday” “Mayday”, are three words that no one wants to ever have to utter - those three words signal distress to those around you who are tuned in to you or are listening to the same radio channel as you. Everyone immediately recognizes it as a call for help and those hearing the message will respond appropriately as they can to offer assistance.
“Mayday” communicates, “I need help - I am in trouble over here”. These are words you never want to have to speak.
There are times to speak and there are times to keep quiet.
Determining the difference between these two is the greater part of wisdom.
We are becoming, and have become, a nation of people who are afraid of speaking. We don’t want to offend anyone or we may say it is not our business (and it may not be); we do not want to appear judgmental and/or we may just not want to become involved. All of these times of lack of speaking or action can have their time and place. But there are also moments when you need to speak and not speaking is not a helpful. When you don’t speak you deny others a chance to learn and to grow, a chance for dialogue. It can be tricky. And it does require wisdom.
For us as Christians we need to ask ourselves, Why do we speak? How do we speak? What do we speak? When do we speak?
In 2 Corinthians today in Paul’s second letter to the church of Corinth, he quotes a piece of a Psalm, Psalm 116:10, “I believed, and so I spoke.”
I believed so I spoke. Paul says it in the present tense: and so, “We also believe and so we speak.”
Paul is encouraging the Corinthians, encouraging them on how to be and how to grow.
A bit earlier in this letter to the Corinthians he wrote,
“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by all, and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are human hearts.”
Paul is saying to them - we don’t need to use speech to tell you how to be do we? You can see and know. You - your lives should speak for themselves. My life speaks for itself.
You yourselves are a letter, written on our own hearts.
You are a letter of Christ written with the Spirit of the living God on tablets of the human hearts. We know that we are for one another and with one another and a part of Christ together. We know this.
You are a letter of Christ.
But there comes a time when this letter of Christ must be spoken, read, shared. “We also believe, and so we speak.”
This is at the heart of Christian speech. Our speech should flow from our belief; we speak because we believe.
As I sailed this week I was on board with two others and the Captain. We all came from different places and have had different experiences in the world. It is part of what I love about sailing. Meeting and experiencing new people. So they asked about me and my faith. We talked and shared as we sailed.
We were able to speak together.
What have you spoken this week? Do your words reflect what you say you believe? Did your words, (do your words?) reflect the love of Christ that indwells you?
Often we fall short of Paul’s word. We don’t speak. We become timid, afraid of speaking about our faith. Afraid we may offend or nervous that we won’t say the right thing or be interpreted wrongly. Paul encourages us to speak. To not just “preach with our lives”. Sometimes we have to use words.
We as Episcopalians have long loved the quote attributed to St. Francis – “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” And I love that we acknowledge that our lives should and do speak for us. But at times it is necessary to begin speaking our belief.
So the young man on our trip began asking me, “So what are you exactly?” And thus began our conversation. He was unfamiliar with any sort of religious thought that was different from the very rigid religious belief system he was somewhat familiar with, from the region where he grew up. He had dismissed religion and practice all together.
We have to speak. It is time to speak. There is a letter written on your heart. The world needs us to speak. We need to offer light to the world that is spinning. What do we speak? It should go something like this,
“You are beloved, dear child. God loves you. God created you. God redeemed you. God called you by name and you are not alone in this life nor in your death. Your sins are forgiven. You are washed clean, made new. You are loved. God loves you just as you are! Now go live and tell others.”
Listen to what is written on your heart. And you can learn to speak from there. That is all that God asks of you. Speak what you know. (and so make sure you know something - spend time deepening your walk with God and allowing God to shape you).
How can the world know that there is a family of God waiting for them and willing to welcome them with open hearts unless we tell them? With words.
So let’s tell them.
And let’s not be divided.
In our Gospel passage from Mark today, Jesus has been accused of being in league with the prince of demons, of having Belzebul, the ruler of the demons. Jesus says that is ridiculous - why would Satan cast out Satan? (Jesus was casting out demons - why would he do that if he himself was in cahoots with Satan?) “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”
He goes on and redefines family - as those who sat around him, those who were listening to him - who desired to hear what he had to say. Here are my mother and my brothers! Look around. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Look around. This is your family. This is your brother and sister and mother.
Let’s be here for one another. And the world around us. And let’s use our words and speak.
The letter is written on your hearts. Go and let others know about it.
Amen.