The Blessings Of Writing
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series II, Cycle B
One of the blessings of God is the gift of writing, of putting our thoughts and observations on clay tablets or jars, on parchment, or on paper. Scholars are not certain when humans first began to write. Many think it happened in Samaria, the civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates, now modern-day Iraq. It may have happened about 3000 B.C.E. Nor is there a consensus on how writing was first used. It may have come from Shamans using it to pass on their skills and secrets. Or writing could have originated as a means to inventory the goods of merchants. Whatever, writing has enhanced the human quest for a richer spiritual and material life.
In our text for today, 1 John says he writes this letter so that readers and hearers would be filled with the great theological convictions that drive his work. He tells us, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (v. 13). Writing became the instrument for communicating the good news of the gospel. This God-given skill is one of humanity's most cherished possessions.
Writings Blessing Our Worship
Writing is central to our gathering in the sanctuary. Worship often begins by voicing the words written by the Psalmist, "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." These words were written centuries ago and they bless us still. Next we might stand to sing a hymn of praise. Perhaps it is that great hymn, "Now Thank We All Our God," reminding us to rejoice that "from our mother's arms [God] has blessed us on our way." Alternatively, we might sing the stanza, "I'll praise my God who lends me breath; and when my voice is lost in death, praise shall employ my nobler powers." These magnificent words are from the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath." With such stirring words, we cannot but be elevated into strong affirmation. While the tunes to these hymns are an important part of their impact, the words are at the heart of their impact.
After our hymn, we usually move to confess that our lives have fallen short of the will of God. Sometimes we join in the prayer, "Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done." These words from an earlier time invite us to become honest before God, the first step in opening ourselves to God's mercy and forgiveness. These words, again, are a gift enabling our repentance, coming from long ago. Other traditional words that are part of our worship treasure come from Archbishop Cranmer of the English Reformation. He invites us to pray, "Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy Name." The continuing power of such ancient language challenges our modern prejudice that only contemporary language can carry powerful meaning and significance. In fact, the age of flowing language may enhance its sense of gift to our worship.
The scriptures are vital to our worship. Scriptures are an indispensable part of our written treasure. The effort to collect, edit, and translate the scriptures is a great story, often filled with deep devotion. A bestseller, God's Secretaries, relates the efforts of the scholars who translated the King James Version of the Bible in 1611. Few would deny that this translation has shaped both the English language and the faith of English-speaking Christians since. It is unmatched in its rhythmic flow of language, often missing in some of our contemporary translations. So many contemporary translations are deficient in beat and cadence. They are flat like the language of Newsweek or Time. Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler, said when we suppress the rhythm and cadence of speech in our writings, we miss the sense of the holy. Perhaps this is why contemporary translations keep appearing one after another: their flat writing soon goes listless and we await the next attempt. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible wisely retains the flowing cadences of the original King James Version, combining clear meaning with poetic mystery. This great writing has blessed us.
After the preaching and the prayers, we might gather for one of the great creeds of the church. Again, we are indebted to those who put these strong faith statements into writing; the most well-known creed attributed to the early apostles. When we drive toward its closing phrases, "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting," we affirm a realm of trust and confidence that nothing can shake. Written words convey deep and abiding meanings. Sometimes our worship receives an infant, a child, a youth, or an adult for baptism. Who can fail to respond to these words as the pastor opens the baptismal service?
Brothers and sisters in Christ:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism
We are initiated into Christ's holy church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation
And given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God's gift, offered to us without price.
Such words force us to consider the great occasion of God's grace through baptism. And when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we often pray these words as the service closes:
Eternal, God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery
In which you have given yourself to us.
Grant that we may go into the world
In the strength of your Spirit,
To give ourselves for others,
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Such language is a gift, moving us to live out the faith in our common life. These words keep us from enjoying a private, personal faith, allowing us to go untouched by the needs and sufferings of the world, and thereby effectively denying Christ.
Great Writings That Have Blessed Us
Other great writings have blessed us and we must give God thanks for them. For instance, the plays of William Shakespeare -- Hamlet and Macbeth, the histories of Henry IV and Henry V, the comedies of As You Like It or All's Well That Ends Well, and certainly the Sonnets. Shakespeare, writing near the same time as the translators of The King James Version of the Bible, bathes us with rich Elizabethan English. Moderns need a good dose of Shakespeare from time to time, so that our flattened prose can rise from its unimaginative plodding and fill us with awe and wonder.
Great poets have also blessed us. John Milton, Keats and Shelley, and Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, dispense poetic treasures that provoke and enchant. In our own day the somber verse of T. S. Eliot, or American poets like Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost rescue us from the ordinary writings and speech of our time. They deliver us from writings that seem not to understand both the misery and grandeur of human existence. These are part of the rich spiritual blessing that the gift of writing has given us.
We are also indebted to the writings of historians, writing about the human story and sort out its meaning. In a popular vein, Will Durant and his wife have gifted us with their masterful multi-volume work, The Story of Civilization. British author, Arnold Toynbee, did us a great favor when he reviewed the history of humanity, trying to find the clue why civilizations have come to birth, flourished, and then perished. His insights are both a judgment and a promise for the future of our world. One American history that has blessed us is Carl Sandburg's, Abraham Lincoln. With the deft skill of a poet and of a deeply sympathetic author, Sandburg has captured the inspiring story of this president from humble beginnings through his presidency and tragic death. Both our major and minor historians bless us, bringing light to the past, and help us move into the future.
Some others have blessed us with their writings. For instance, Charles Darwin in Origin of Species shattered the simplicity of our understanding of the development of life. He concluded that biological life has risen through an evolutionary way becoming the standard for modern science. Some have resisted Darwin's insights because they feel that Darwin's ideas are incompatible with belief in a creating and sustaining God. Other religious folks find Darwin both reasonable as well as compatible with their religious convictions, filling them with wonder and awe at the processes that have brought us life.
Sigmund Freud is another writer who has blessed our modern understandings. Without endorsing all he wrote, or his own world view, Freud has made aware of what he called "the subconscious," a place within where drives, motives, fears, ambitions, and irrational forces lurk, often determining our lives. Freud wrote that the subconscious explains why we sometimes experience troubling emotions, or act in ways that shame or confuse us. To him, mind is much deeper than the consciousness through which we experience our world in everyday life. Coming to responsible maturity means recognizing our subconscious before it destroys us in the process. Many have sensed that Freud and Paul would come together at this point. Paul, too, believed that we are in the grip of an inner flaw determining our actions and thoughts, leading us to destruction. We can be grateful to the writings of Freud for he opens for us the possibility of hearing Paul all over again in a new and powerful way.
Celebrating The Gift Of Writing
Winston Churchill had a sharp wit, especially in responding to his detractors. Once in reviewing a critic's book he said, "The Almighty, having deprived this author of the gift of thinking, has nevertheless endowed him with the ability of writing." None of the sources we have cited, authors and translators of scripture, hymns, prayers, creeds, liturgical statements, dramatists, poets, historians, biologists, psychiatrists, or economists are faulted in this way. All of these bring something of the truth of God, enriching our lives and calling us into the continuing work of God in our world.
Therefore, it was a holy moment when an ancient Sumerian took a crude tool and made some markings on a clay tablet. Out of such a modest act has come the wonderful gift of human writing. This gift has freed humans to communicate and preserve their thoughts, decisions, and memories of the past. Even more, the gift of writing enables humans to express their hopes and dreams for the future, blessing untold generations after them. One wonders if this was in the mind of 1 John when he put down these words, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).
In our text for today, 1 John says he writes this letter so that readers and hearers would be filled with the great theological convictions that drive his work. He tells us, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (v. 13). Writing became the instrument for communicating the good news of the gospel. This God-given skill is one of humanity's most cherished possessions.
Writings Blessing Our Worship
Writing is central to our gathering in the sanctuary. Worship often begins by voicing the words written by the Psalmist, "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." These words were written centuries ago and they bless us still. Next we might stand to sing a hymn of praise. Perhaps it is that great hymn, "Now Thank We All Our God," reminding us to rejoice that "from our mother's arms [God] has blessed us on our way." Alternatively, we might sing the stanza, "I'll praise my God who lends me breath; and when my voice is lost in death, praise shall employ my nobler powers." These magnificent words are from the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath." With such stirring words, we cannot but be elevated into strong affirmation. While the tunes to these hymns are an important part of their impact, the words are at the heart of their impact.
After our hymn, we usually move to confess that our lives have fallen short of the will of God. Sometimes we join in the prayer, "Almighty and merciful God, we have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done." These words from an earlier time invite us to become honest before God, the first step in opening ourselves to God's mercy and forgiveness. These words, again, are a gift enabling our repentance, coming from long ago. Other traditional words that are part of our worship treasure come from Archbishop Cranmer of the English Reformation. He invites us to pray, "Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnify thy holy Name." The continuing power of such ancient language challenges our modern prejudice that only contemporary language can carry powerful meaning and significance. In fact, the age of flowing language may enhance its sense of gift to our worship.
The scriptures are vital to our worship. Scriptures are an indispensable part of our written treasure. The effort to collect, edit, and translate the scriptures is a great story, often filled with deep devotion. A bestseller, God's Secretaries, relates the efforts of the scholars who translated the King James Version of the Bible in 1611. Few would deny that this translation has shaped both the English language and the faith of English-speaking Christians since. It is unmatched in its rhythmic flow of language, often missing in some of our contemporary translations. So many contemporary translations are deficient in beat and cadence. They are flat like the language of Newsweek or Time. Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler, said when we suppress the rhythm and cadence of speech in our writings, we miss the sense of the holy. Perhaps this is why contemporary translations keep appearing one after another: their flat writing soon goes listless and we await the next attempt. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible wisely retains the flowing cadences of the original King James Version, combining clear meaning with poetic mystery. This great writing has blessed us.
After the preaching and the prayers, we might gather for one of the great creeds of the church. Again, we are indebted to those who put these strong faith statements into writing; the most well-known creed attributed to the early apostles. When we drive toward its closing phrases, "I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting," we affirm a realm of trust and confidence that nothing can shake. Written words convey deep and abiding meanings. Sometimes our worship receives an infant, a child, a youth, or an adult for baptism. Who can fail to respond to these words as the pastor opens the baptismal service?
Brothers and sisters in Christ:
Through the Sacrament of Baptism
We are initiated into Christ's holy church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation
And given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God's gift, offered to us without price.
Such words force us to consider the great occasion of God's grace through baptism. And when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we often pray these words as the service closes:
Eternal, God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery
In which you have given yourself to us.
Grant that we may go into the world
In the strength of your Spirit,
To give ourselves for others,
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Such language is a gift, moving us to live out the faith in our common life. These words keep us from enjoying a private, personal faith, allowing us to go untouched by the needs and sufferings of the world, and thereby effectively denying Christ.
Great Writings That Have Blessed Us
Other great writings have blessed us and we must give God thanks for them. For instance, the plays of William Shakespeare -- Hamlet and Macbeth, the histories of Henry IV and Henry V, the comedies of As You Like It or All's Well That Ends Well, and certainly the Sonnets. Shakespeare, writing near the same time as the translators of The King James Version of the Bible, bathes us with rich Elizabethan English. Moderns need a good dose of Shakespeare from time to time, so that our flattened prose can rise from its unimaginative plodding and fill us with awe and wonder.
Great poets have also blessed us. John Milton, Keats and Shelley, and Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, dispense poetic treasures that provoke and enchant. In our own day the somber verse of T. S. Eliot, or American poets like Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost rescue us from the ordinary writings and speech of our time. They deliver us from writings that seem not to understand both the misery and grandeur of human existence. These are part of the rich spiritual blessing that the gift of writing has given us.
We are also indebted to the writings of historians, writing about the human story and sort out its meaning. In a popular vein, Will Durant and his wife have gifted us with their masterful multi-volume work, The Story of Civilization. British author, Arnold Toynbee, did us a great favor when he reviewed the history of humanity, trying to find the clue why civilizations have come to birth, flourished, and then perished. His insights are both a judgment and a promise for the future of our world. One American history that has blessed us is Carl Sandburg's, Abraham Lincoln. With the deft skill of a poet and of a deeply sympathetic author, Sandburg has captured the inspiring story of this president from humble beginnings through his presidency and tragic death. Both our major and minor historians bless us, bringing light to the past, and help us move into the future.
Some others have blessed us with their writings. For instance, Charles Darwin in Origin of Species shattered the simplicity of our understanding of the development of life. He concluded that biological life has risen through an evolutionary way becoming the standard for modern science. Some have resisted Darwin's insights because they feel that Darwin's ideas are incompatible with belief in a creating and sustaining God. Other religious folks find Darwin both reasonable as well as compatible with their religious convictions, filling them with wonder and awe at the processes that have brought us life.
Sigmund Freud is another writer who has blessed our modern understandings. Without endorsing all he wrote, or his own world view, Freud has made aware of what he called "the subconscious," a place within where drives, motives, fears, ambitions, and irrational forces lurk, often determining our lives. Freud wrote that the subconscious explains why we sometimes experience troubling emotions, or act in ways that shame or confuse us. To him, mind is much deeper than the consciousness through which we experience our world in everyday life. Coming to responsible maturity means recognizing our subconscious before it destroys us in the process. Many have sensed that Freud and Paul would come together at this point. Paul, too, believed that we are in the grip of an inner flaw determining our actions and thoughts, leading us to destruction. We can be grateful to the writings of Freud for he opens for us the possibility of hearing Paul all over again in a new and powerful way.
Celebrating The Gift Of Writing
Winston Churchill had a sharp wit, especially in responding to his detractors. Once in reviewing a critic's book he said, "The Almighty, having deprived this author of the gift of thinking, has nevertheless endowed him with the ability of writing." None of the sources we have cited, authors and translators of scripture, hymns, prayers, creeds, liturgical statements, dramatists, poets, historians, biologists, psychiatrists, or economists are faulted in this way. All of these bring something of the truth of God, enriching our lives and calling us into the continuing work of God in our world.
Therefore, it was a holy moment when an ancient Sumerian took a crude tool and made some markings on a clay tablet. Out of such a modest act has come the wonderful gift of human writing. This gift has freed humans to communicate and preserve their thoughts, decisions, and memories of the past. Even more, the gift of writing enables humans to express their hopes and dreams for the future, blessing untold generations after them. One wonders if this was in the mind of 1 John when he put down these words, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).
