St Matthew & St Oswald’s with Overslade, Rugby entered 2021 by engaging with ‘God in my Everything.’ A book written by Ken Shigematsu and published by Zondervan in 2013. The essence of the book is to build our lives on a trellis drawing on ancient Christian wisdom, particularly from St Benedict and his ‘Rule.’ The hope is that we will create ‘Rhythms of Grace’ that will inform and enhance our lives as the people of God.
(See below for a picture of the trellis)
In our ‘Preaching Series’ we have explored a
basic overview of the trellis and in this sermon we begin to explore one of
the trellis uprights, the Bible.
We are beginning with the 1st "root"
practice on the trellis - BIBLE READING and we will be looking at different
aspects of the Bible over 2 weeks before we move on to PRAYER and
SABBATH.
We are exploring ‘Guide me in your truth’
Reading 2 Timothy 3: 10-17 and Psalm 119: 1-8.
Once upon a time long ago a
beautiful woman was travelling along a wild and lonely place in her horse drawn
carriage. She came upon a poor young girl, beaten and half-starved and dressed
in rags.
The woman asked the driver to
stop and they picked up the young girl and put her into the carriage. The woman
wrapped warm blankets around the girl and dressed her wounds as best as she was
able. She also gave her some warm soup from a flask and made her as comfortable
as possible.
They journeyed on for some
time and the young girl fell asleep.
When she awoke, she felt and
looked much improved.
So, the woman began to enquire
about the young girl, who was she, how had she come to be left by the side of
the road in such a desolate place and in such a condition. The young girl said
that her name was Truth and that she had heard of a particular town notable for
its vice, for its cruelty and lack of care for the most poor and vulnerable.
She felt compelled to go and speak to them and hopefully get them to see the
error of their ways. But they laughed at her and began to beat her and
eventually tied her backwards onto a donkey and sent of her off into the
wilderness. Eventually the donkey collapsed, and she was left as the woman had
found her, lying desolate by the wayside.
‘What is your name,’ the young
girl asked. The beautiful woman replied, ‘my name is Story.’
So, from that day to this -
Truth has always been carried by Story.
In the 17th & 18th century a new story started to be told. This story had little or no room for God or divine beings.
There were several variations
on how to deal with a redundant God.
Some claimed he used to be
around, but like a divine watchmaker he had created the universe, wound it up,
set it going and then withdrawn leaving the universe to do its own thing.
Others pushed God upstairs and
if you still maintained a predilection for belief in a divine being then okay
you can do that – but please do it in your own time as we are busy.
We are busy making scientific
discoveries and breakthroughs. We are busy creating a new world where disease
and the ills of the past will one day be eradicated.
We are busy building a world
where fortunes can be made.
We are busy building a world
that because of our skill and ingenuity we can transport and transplant
anywhere across the globe. And they make not like it at first, but people will
come to see the benefit and want to join in and make this story their own.
The days of darkness are past,
and a new dawn of enlightenment has arrived. Some scholars claim the end of the
Enlightenment as a distinct movement ended in the mire of the French
Revolution. Others put it later.
Whenever or however the
Enlightenment period ended, the momentum has continued apace particularly in
Western culture.
And America is perhaps
arguably the most notable child born out of the Enlightenment. The epitome of secular
western democracy.
Now we have much to be
thankful for and there are enormous benefits brought by the advance of science
and medicine over the last couple of hundred years. That would include a COVID-19 vaccine in
record time.
However, it has come at a
cost.
Think of the ongoing legacy of
colonialism.
Think of those who lived in
the most appalling conditions in Victorian slums or slaving down mines or in
the ‘dark satanic mills.’
Think of the mechanical war of World War One and then, lessons having not been learned, spilling over into another global conflict.
Think of the banking crisis of
a decade ago.
Think of Japan’s working weeks
of 80 hours as outlined in Ken Shigematsu’ book, ‘God in my Everything.’
Think of the way we greet each
other, ‘hello, what’s your name and what do you do?’ And the demoralising
effect of not doing anything, of being unemployed, useless, not wanted, no
good, no purpose, no value.
Think of the pandemic that has shown that although the Emperor may have underwear on, the fabulous outer garments are a mere chimera.
Covid-19 has highlighted fault
lines of enormous and far-reaching proportions in the UK and across the globe.
The poor, the weak, the
vulnerable have been disproportionally affected by this pandemic.
Then consider the way that
economics have driven the response to the outbreak and the cost of human life
that has created.
This is a demonstrably fact,
not fake news.
I am sure we could all add to
the failure of the enlightenment story and its ongoing legacy to bring us to a promised
utopia.
It is time for a new story
with truth at its heart and core.
As God’s people we are
custodians of an Old Story with truth at its heart and core. The Bible, where
we find this Old Story, is like a beautiful carriage carrying Truth.
As we write a new story hopefully with Covid-19 if not eradicated then at least under control, we need to ensure that this Old Story is woven into any new story. That God is not a watchmaker, or that he lives in the attic, or is irrelevant and no longer needed.
Paul writing to his young protégé Timothy says that this
Story is, ‘inspired.’
All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3.16-17
David Long last week
introduced us to Jesus’ rhythms of grace, Jesus’ rule of life. The patterns we
can detect of Sabbath, Prayer and Scripture.
This week and next as I
outlined at the beginning, we are focussing on Bible reading, our own Bible
reading as an important part of the trellis, one of the foundational
uprights.
This passage is probably
familiar to most of us. We understand the importance of God’s ‘inspiration’ for
giving us confidence that in the various ways and means by which we have come
to have the canon of Scripture we do, that this was guided by God.
However, as we continue in our
exploration of our rhythms of grace, I would like us to notice what Paul says
is the purpose of our reading the Scriptures.
‘…so that the servant of God
may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’
Our endeavours to create
rhythms of grace in our own lives, our attending to Bible reading is so that we
might be informed.
Informed about God’s will and
ways.
Informed of the trajectory of
God’s programme going forward.
Informed about how we can
speak truth to power, truth to fake news.
When people are hungry, ill
housed, or sleeping rough. When people have no jobs and so are then deemed a
problem and given hand-outs.
When we take heed that unless
we take drastic action the global crisis of environmental control will spin off
the scale.
If we are reading into the Old
Story that it is only about Jesus dying for us so that we might go to heaven
when we die. Then we need to re-read this Old Story.
If we are all going off to
heaven singing glory hallelujah and leaving this old world behind, then yes,
why bother, let it go to hell.
But if we read carefully, the
Genesis story, of God speaking the cosmos into existence. If we note that the crowning
glory of creation is humankind into which God breathed life and declared it
very good – humanity is God inspired!
If we read Romans 8 with the
image of creation groaning as in labour pains.
If we tie that in with the
vision of Revelation 21 with a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth.
If we grasp God’s great plan to redeem, restore and recreate a perfect heaven and earth.
If we heed this and carefully
note the unfolding story outlined in the whole of the Scriptures. If we allow
this to impact us and stir us up in the very depth of our being, then our
rhythms of grace will be saved from becoming mere introspection, a personal
piety.
They will become life
transformative both for ourselves and for our sphere of influence.
It is time to search the
Scriptures, to seek for truth, and its time to tell the Old Story and ensure
that it becomes embedded in whatever new story emerges as a way of society
ordering its affairs going forward from now on.
In short, a realized Lord’s
Prayer.
May I commend to you ‘The
Bible Project’ that offers podcasts, videos, reading notes and other material.
Their strap line is, ‘helping people experience the Bible as a unified story
that leads to Jesus.’
The Bible Project is one great
way for us to build a firm Biblical upright for our trellis.
Jesus said, ‘I am the way,
the truth and the life.’
Is that fake news or Good
News?
How you answer and respond to
that will make a world of difference and should make a difference to the world.
Let us pray….
Creator God, we do not just
want to have a head knowledge of Biblical stories, but a heart knowledge of Biblical
truth and godly love. We want to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to You
and to be used by You as a witness to Your grace and goodness, as a living
sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto You. We want to be Story Tellers singing out
the light of your glorious Gospel to the whole of creation. Help us to read,
mark, learn and inwardly digest your most precious and Holy Word that we might
be transformed and transformative. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The idea of being created in
God’s image and being tasked to co-create and re-create, especially with
environmental concerns, is helpfully explored in USPG’s Six Session Study
Course.
United Society Partners in the
Gospel | For Such a Time (uspg.org.uk)
