Sermon: Weldon
D. Nisly
TITLE: Welcome the Implanted Word
THEME: Being beloved servants of God
TEXTS: Song of Songs 2:8-13
Psalm 113 & 45
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8
Greeting
The
Lord be with you.
Hear the word of God from the Book of James.
James 1: 17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,
coming down from the God of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change.
In fulfillment of God’s own purpose God gave us birth by the word of
truth,
so that we would become a kind of first fruits of
God’s creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved:
let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow
to anger;
for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of
wickedness,
and welcome with meekness the implanted word
that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive
themselves.
For if any are hearers of the word and not doers,
they are like those who look at themselves in a
mirror;
for they look at themselves and, on going away,
immediately forget what they were like.
But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
persevere,
being not hearers who forget but doers who act
-- they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but
deceive their hearts,
their religion is worthless.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, is
this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by
the world.
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word.
Yesterday afternoon two
weddings took place -- one in Indiana, one in
Both of these weddings are
part of our lives. Yet it is likely that
we are barely
conscious that they were
taking place…of these two weddings.
In northern
to begin married life
together.
In a small park near the
Latourell waterfall and the
Dori Handy and Josh Adam
exchanged wedding vows to begin their married life yesterday as well.
At this very moment on this
first day of married life, Lenora and Tobias and Dori and Josh enjoy and share
life as a beloved spouse with their beloved in all glory and delight of the
sacrament of marriage newly begun and passionately lived.
To be beloved of another and
to respond deeply to one’s beloved is one of life’s great joys and
mysteries. But it doesn’t just happen
and it isn’t just maintained as on this first day of marriage.
One of the great joys and
responsibilities of pastoral ministry is being with two people
in preparation for marriage
and being instrumental in their wedding celebration.
In this particular situation,
I had an unusual role with these two couples.
I had the gift of being with Lenora and Tobias in their pre-marriage
preparation and then blessing them to go to
Some years ago, I was having
a conversation with someone about the pastoral role
of being with a couple in
preparation for marriage and performing their wedding.
This person suddenly blurted
out, “But how can you really prepare a couple for
marriage or perform their
wedding?” This person went on to explain
this hard and
real question, saying,
“Marriage is so hard and so many of them fail.
So aren’t you
afraid to perform any
couple’s wedding?”
I remember being startled by
that question. Maybe even shocked. Yes, marriage is
a challenge and certainly can
be hard. Relationships of all kinds are
hard and can be
a challenge.
Nevertheless, God is a God of
relationship. God created us in God’s
own image as people of relationship – relationship with God and with each
other. Marriage is a particularly
intimate and intense way of living in relationship created in God’s image.
Being with a couple preparing
for marriage and performing their wedding is one of the
most amazing and blessed
tasks and gifts of being a pastor. It is
a moment where the
gifts of faith, hope, and
love are beautifully embryonic and bountifully evident. It is also a sacred step that touches and
makes possible all the ordinariness and messiness and
mystery and even pain of
relationship to come.
Preparation for marriage and
a wedding celebration is rooted in our being God’s
beloved.
This morning as I was
listening to these texts again, those are the best words I could come up with
to speak of it for now.
But marriage is only one from
of relationship. More importantly in the
Song of Songs
is the recognition and the
reception of the gift of being God’s beloved.
In receiving the gift of being beloved of God are we able to be the
beloved.
We love because God is
love. We love because God first loved
us.
Ron Rolheiser, an adjunct
faculty member of
the centrality of our being
beloved of God in these words:
We’re not complete until we can hear God say to us, “I
love you.”
[These are] the most important words you will ever
hear.
In the end prayer’s essence, it’s mission statement,
it’s raison d’etre is simply this:
We need to open ourselves to God
in such a way that we are capable of hearing God say
to us,
“I love you.”
Prairie Messenger Catholic Journal, Vol. 80, No. 38, April 2, 2003
So what does all of this have
to do with Worship today and these biblical words from the Song of Songs, the
Psalms, the Gospel of Mark, and the Book of James?
Being beloved of God is a
most awesome gift! It is a most real and
mysterious and even unmerited gift. And
it is a gift calling for our deepest response…yes, even our life!
To be beloved is to be a servant. Beloved and being servants goes
together. The Song of Solomon speaks in
the poetic language of the Beloved.
Jesus in Mark’s Gospel and James in the Book of James speak of our
response as beloved God’s people. We are
servants of God in the world and in our relationships.
I am not speaking from Jesus’
words in Mark’s Gospel this morning. It
is enough to hear them and hold them in our hearts.
I am not even speaking about
James’ Book except by way of brief introduction to it. We will hear them again contemplatively and
hold them in our heart as well.
The Book of James was a
controversial book in the process of canonization of scripture. James barely made it into the Bible. Martin Luther called James a “right strawy
gospel”
Luther’s distaste for James
came from reading it as emphasizing that “a person is justified by works and
not by faith alone.”
More recently we read James
as wisdom literature for the church with a particular concern for morality
addressing and an intentional community of faith in an egalitarian and
communitarian way rather than hierarchical or individualistic morality. (Luke
Timothy Johnson, The Letter of James, NIB, 177-180.)
Be doers and hearers of the
implanted word
With that minimal
introduction to the Book of James we will hear again this scripture. As you hear the word, listen not so much as
an admonition of “do’s” and “don’ts” for
life but as a contemplative
word inspiring you as God’s beloved eager to respond
As you hear this scripture
listen for a word or a phrase that touches your heart.
Or it may be an image
or a symbol that is stirring within you from this holy word
of scripture. If so hold it as a gift and let it speak to
you.
Perhaps it is a question or a
mystery that bubbles for you in this scripture.
Whatever
it is receive it as God’s
message placed on your heart and mind this morning.
On your seats were a small
colored paper and pencil. Following our
hearing of
God’s Word, sit in silence
and hold whatever God has placed on your heart.
Hold
it gently. Listen to it.
Don’t try to figure it out or analyze it…at least not too much. Receive
it as a gift. In the silence you may feel
led to write a word or draw a picture
or create a symbol on this paper. Or you may imagine it on the paper and not
make
any mark there.
After a time of silence I
will close with prayer. The prayer will
be for our offerings
of money and of our response
to God’s word to us today. When the
offering baskets
are passed you may place both
your monetary offering and your slips of paper in the basket. They will then be placed on the altar as our
offering to God today.
You do not need to sign your
name to it, although you may of you wish.
I would like
to place your paper offerings
in the prayer room to hold in prayer each day this week.
Hear again the Word of God
from the book of James.
James 1:17-27
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above,
coming down from the God of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change.
In fulfillment of God’s own purpose God gave us birth by the word of
truth,
so that we would become a kind of first fruits of
God’s creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved:
let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow
to anger;
for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of
wickedness,
and welcome with meekness the implanted word
that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive
themselves.
For if any are hearers of the word and not doers,
they are like those who look at themselves in a
mirror;
for they look at themselves and, on going away,
immediately forget what they were like.
But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
persevere,
being not hearers who forget but doers who act
-- they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but
deceive their hearts,
their religion is worthless.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, is
this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by
the world.
…..SILENT
REFLECTION………LECTIO DIVINA…….
PRAYER
Include prayer for offering
of our response to God’s word with these papers and with our money….
God we are deeply grateful
that you have created us as your Beloved and that you love us. Keep us in your love. Make us people of love in relationship – in
relationship to you
and to each other in all that
we are and do in response to your love.
Instill in our hearts the words of James that
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect
gift, is from above,
coming from you our the God of light…”
Bless our offering of money
for your church and your reign.
Bless our hearing and holding
in our hearts your Holy Word this day again as we
make our offering to you.
In your holy name we
pray. Amen