Can You Hear Me Now?
Pentecost 5 – Narrative Lectionary Summer Series
July 14, 2019
Redeemer, Good Thunder, MN
Hebrews 1.1-4
The Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ has a campaign, also a tag line, “God is still speaking.” The campaign is to remind people that “God still has a lot more to say.” That’s helpful, because we tend to think that the Word, our Bible, is this fixed communication. In one way that’s true. Although theoretically the Bible is not closed and could have additions, practically speaking, it would be very difficult for the worldwide Christian community to agree on what those would be. Even so, we also agree that the Bible is a dynamic document. Hebrews reminds us of that: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son….” Hebrews tells us that the Bible is a living Word.
Today we begin our five part sermon series on the book of Hebrews, often called a letter. However, it has very few features of a biblical letter. There is no salutation, no thanksgiving and no sender. We’re not sure who wrote it, what situation it addresses or when it was written. Of course, that hasn’t stopped scholars from speculating. The only feature consistent with biblical epistles is that it ends like a letter. However, if you read through it, it reads more like a theological treatise interspersed with exhortations. In other words, it’s more like a sermon with encouragement to do better, only with better language than you hear in most sermons.
That’s an important message for us to hear, because we need to know God is still speaking to us and that God still has a lot more to say. But, how does God speak to us today and what does it mean to listen to what God is saying? First, like the author of Hebrews, we recognize that God always uses relational means to speak. In other words, God uses other people to speak to us and, if we thought about it, usually does so in images and pictures rather than articles of faith. Even when the Ten Commandments were given, they were mediated by Moses in the context of an overall story of liberation and new beginnings.
Still, as I thought about God speaking, I wondered about how we listen for God’s voice today. It occurred to me that God often speaks to me through the most unlikely people who challenge me. They come from someplace very different from me and tell me things I don’t want to hear. For example, I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook and I certainly don’t get into arguments with people, because it is so hard to have meaningful conversations in that media. But quite often someone will say something that I have to think deeply about. Whether it is a friend, family member, parishioner or colleague, those statements that challenge my world view prod me to reconsider or, at the very least, make sure I can justify my beliefs. Even so, there are times when my mind is changed.
Yet, in addition to the “hard listening” when God is trying to challenge our strongly held beliefs, Hebrews reminds us that God is also trying to get through the fog of despair and apathy. The recipients of the letter to the Hebrews had lost their passion for the faith and were just going through the motions. The writer seeks to encourage them to rekindle that fire. He also reminds us when we do the same or when we want to give up that through the Word made flesh, God is still speaking words of love, forgiveness and new life to us. So, through whom is God speaking to you today and what Word do you need to hear? I invite you to ponder deeply how God is speaking, practice humility in listening, and ask God for the grace to hear how you can live the life intended for you, both now and forever. Amen.
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