Fallen Into Knowledge

I Preached on Sunday, on about 24 hours’ Notice. Here is the manuscript, its not as polished as I might have liked, but it practically fell off the tip of my pen (or keyboard, as the case may be). I was in Bend for the weekend with my family when I got the call, and while there I took some pictures, which can be found in the photo galleries. So, without further ado, the sermon:

We have been traipsing through Hebrews this fall, but today we are going to make a small detour.

And although its a bit out of our way, I think it will be helpful for us, &,etc.

Go up to the Mountain: We are not those who shrink back: Exodus 19-20As we have made our way through Hebrews we have seen how the author imagines the readers to be standing, like Israel, on the edge of the Jordan River, about to cross over into the Promised Land. They were afraid, though, because even though God promised it to be a super-abundant land: rich in resources and a place where Israel could call home, they also remembered the stories, the report of the 40 sent into spy out the land, who said to the people of Israel:

“We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we are.”

Israel was afraid, standing there on the edge of the Jordan: for even though the desert had not been a very good home for them, and they had often wished for something different: at least it was familiar. The author of Hebrews imagines us there also, standing at the edge of the Jordan River, and in Hebrews calls to us to leave behind the covenants we have made with this world, to leave behind what is familiar, and step into Christ, in to a Covenant that is completely different. (more…)

In 1774, the French chemist, Antoine Lavoisier, was racing to discover the properties of a substance Henry Cavendish called “inflammable air.” Lavoisier believed, as did the two other scientists who were also bent on beating him to the discovery, that this “inflammable air” might be created by de-phlogisticating otherwise ordinary air. See, the going theory was that in addition to the 4 Greek elements of air, fire, water, and earth there was this fifth element (and, no, its not love!), this fifth element was contained in combustible substances and was released during combustion. They needed something to explain the processes of rust and oxidation, and phlogiston was it. At any rate, Lavoisier was trying to remove all of the phlogiston from the air to isolate this “inflammable air” - or, aether, as it was sometimes called.
As you might expect, he didn’t succeed. (more…)

I haven’t died, although the few people who visit this Internet Outpost might have reason to think I had. Sorry about that. Most of my writing energy has been directed toward churchly duties. We are starting a sermon series on the book of Hebrews, and I have been banging out notes for that. Here are some now(!):

1. The book of Hebrews depends heavily on the Old Testament to make its argument. It is arguing from the Old Testament.
1a. We cannot assume that our audience is similarly familiar with the Old Testament.
1b. We must respect the authors movement in arguing. We cannot preach through Hebrews while ignoring the indebtedness on the Old Testament.
I think that because of this we need to “introduce” hebrews, to situate it.

2. The author frequently offers “applications” in the midst of the argument: these “parenthetical” sections are often exhortative in nature, and seem ripe for the plucking for sermon material. We must be careful not to be focus on these sections (because they are easy to preach on, relatively) to the detriment of the main argument of the book, which by contrast is harder to preach on.

3. Hebrews describes, in a sense, the mechanics of Christ’s work as embedded in Israel’s story. In that sense we can use Hebrews to (re-) build theology for the church from the ground up, as it were.

4. Everything in Hebrews relates back to Jesus either as the high Priest who accomplished the task, or to His death on a cross. These two are close to being the same thing.

Main Idea: Jesus’ role as a Superior High Priest establishes a new covenant, a new law and a new people: all these are results of and shaped by Jesus’ superior sacrifice of himself.

So this week I am preaching again, and I thought that instead of spending all week alone preparing in hopes of delivering a masterpiece of oratory at on Sunday I would post the outline here so others (you!) could give input.

Over the last year or so, we have moved steadily toward a more communal sermon preparation process: at this point the person who preaches gets at least some outside input - input which they aren’t obligated to make use of, but may also freely use. It seems to us that the image of the preach retreating into (usually but not necessarily) his study only to pass the word down - Moses-like - on Sunday runs counter to the New Testament. We have been trying to change that at the Pearl Church. Usually this process takes place among a small group of people, and it will probably continue to do so. But today I would like to throw it open a bit.

So, here is my outline thus far: its rough because its still Monday. That also means that now is when input can be really helpful (as opposed to after I am wedded to to details). There are huge gaps, moves that I haven’t decided upon. But, here it is:

Introduction: “prayer as manifesto”

I would like to start by highlighting a speech that really rallies people together, but all the illustrations (movies, mostly) that come to mind are of a general-figure rallying the troops for battle. I wish to avoid the violent connotations. Perhaps one of Murrow’s speeches in “Good Night and Good Luck.” Words are powerful.

1. Not “how to pray,” but “pray toward this end:”

We have become accustomed to reading The Lord’s Prayer as if it were a “How to” manual, as if it set out the parts one should include in prayer - first this, and then that, and so on. This would be fine (as, having a guide in prayer is also fine), except that formulas run the danger of devolving into “meaningless words” - words without signification - words emptied of their content. If anything, this is precisely what Jesus was talking about in the passage right before The Lord’s prayer.

2. Manna from heaven and jubilee: the kingdom refracted through the torah

A. “Our Father, Hallowed be your Name, Your Kingdom Come, On earth as it is in Heaven”

Much in the same way as the Shema, or the Decalogue, this prayer begins with an affirmation of God’s exclusive reign. Of interest is the proclamation / request that, just as god reigns in / over heaven, he might also reign here.
This is not a “pie-in-the-sky” hope that we might hasten to heaven, but that God’s righteousness would pervade our world and community as it does His own realm.

In this sense, the “our Father” echoes Miriam, Hannah, and Mary’s prayers that God would come with justice to His people.
This “Kingdom Come” also bears echoes of Isaiah – the Day of the Lord.

B. “Give us today our daily bread.”

Two Scriptural echoes here: First, this harkens back to the time when Israel was fed manna, daily, from heaven.

Second, and in lone with our Jubilee theme, A people who are not sowing and reaping have to trust the Lord to provide.

C. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but deliver us from the evil one.”

The significance of Debt forgiveness: Some might say that by forgiving debts, we open ourselves up to be trampled upon - and indeed we are. We have to be “wise as serpents, innocent as doves:” yet we are clearly called to embody Christ’s sacrifice by not maintaining hold of our “rights.”

D. “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses.”

The author of Matthew broadens the scope of the Jubilee language above: not only are we to forgive debts, but we are also to forgive any grievances: You are no longer indebted to me: you are free of the burden. Our freeing of others is directly tied to God’s freeing of us (an inescapable point Matthew makes, however uncomfortable that makes us feel)

3. Prayer as community-orienting activity

The death and resurrection gives shape to life and community for us: it also points toward God’s and our future:

The Raising of Christ is not merely a consolation to him in a life that is full of distress and doomed to die, but it is also God’s contradiction of suffering and death, of humiliation and offense, and of the wickedness of evil. Hope finds in Christ not only a consolation in suffering, but also the protest of the divine promise against suffering. -Moltmann