Words and things !

Few of us will need convincing of the power of words – how many of us have not at sometime or another, (or all too regularly !), said something which we have later regretted. There’s the kind of classic line of shaking hands with a lady and congratulating her and asking when the baby’s due, only to find out of course that she’s not pregnant, but a little large !

Or there’s the story about a young man working his first day in the fruit and vegetable department of a super market. A lady came up to him and said, "I want to buy half of a head of lettuce". He tried to put her off by explaining that they only sold whole lettuce.

But she persisted, and finally he said, "I’ll have to go and talk to the manager." He went to the back of the shop, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the shop, he said to the manager, "There’s a silly old woman out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce.

What should I tell her?" Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned around and, seeing the woman, he then added rather quickly, "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will that be all right?" Relieved, the manager said, "yes that will be fine".

Words can be incredibly powerful – last Friday I conducted a wedding in Pyle, and as I did, I thought during the service that there are few more powerful words in the English language than the words ‘I will’ during that service. The promise that those 2 words involves and the bond that is created is huge…

As we go back through centuries we find words have been used skilfully to help people achieve all kinds of things, some good and some bad. We don’t have to go far back to think of the powerful words of Adolf Hitler, who encouraged, in fact almost brainwashed, people to follow him whatever the cost to themselves or to other people. We can think of the words of Winston Churchill who so often managed to inspire people and give them hope even during the darkest days of the Second World War.

We can think of the powerful words of Ronald Reagan, the Former United States President, who said to his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, ‘tear down these walls’ – and shortly after the walls dividing East and West were torn down and the world changed.

Another example of words being used a little bit strangely came on Saturday – I was in a queue in McDonald’s actually, and a girl came up to another girl in front of me, and asked if she’d seen her sister. ‘Which one ?’ replied the girl in front of me, ‘Rhian’ the other girl replied, and the girl in front of me said she hadn’t seen her. So reasonably enough the girl asked the one in front of me which sister she had seen, and it actually transpired than in spite of her question ‘Which one ?’ she hadn’t seen any of them !

It was a pointless discussion when actually the answer could just have been a simple ‘No’.

In the letter of James (Ch. 3), he warns about the dangers of using the tongue unwisely. He likens it to a bridle, a small object that can keep the whole body of a horse in check, or a rudder, a small part of a ship, but obviously hugely important, and says that with the tongue, a small object, a huge forest blaze can start from the smallest fire.

With the tongue, we are told we can bless or we can curse.

And so we are warned to be careful with our words, but that passage from the letter of James isn’t just about warnings, because it also reminds us of course of the power of words used to good effect.

And the power of words is a huge challenge to us all. We have all heard the saying ‘Think before you speak’ and it’s certainly true, but our best example of all of using the power of words for good comes, not surprisingly, from Jesus…

He calls us by his words and his actions to commit, and committing everything means committing our words as well.

On many occasions we hear of Jesus being questioned, sometimes for advice, sometimes for guidance, but very often as a test. People were determined to catch him out, but they never succeeded. Jesus’ words were always used to good and lasting effect…

In the reading from Luke that we’ve heard, Jesus is telling people of the futility of chasing after material goods and riches, particularly if they come at the cost of a relationship with God. He is reminding his followers also of the cost of commitment, and the risk of persecution.

I’m sure that quite a lot of you are on the internet and receive e mails. Regularly I, and I suspect you if you are, get e mails that tell jokes or stories. Some are good, some are incredibly bad, and some are just strange, but this week I received one which included the following rhyme :

10 little Christians standing in line. 1 disliked the preacher and then there were 9.
9 little Christians stayed up very late. 1 overslept Sunday and then there were 8.
8 little Christians on their way to heaven. 1 took the low road and then there were 7.
7 little Christians chirping like chicks. 1 disliked music and then there were 6.
6 little Christians seemed very much alive, but 1 lost interest and then there were 5.
5 little Christians pulling for heaven’s shore, but 1 stopped to rest and then there were 4.
4 little Christians each busy as a bee. 1 got his feelings hurt and then there were 3.
3 little Christians knew not what to do. 1 joined the sporty crowd and then there were 2.
2 little Christians, our rhyme is nearly done, differed with each other and then there was 1.
1 little Christian can’t do much ‘tis true, brought his friend to Bible Study and then there were 2.
2 earnest Christians, each won 1 more. That doubled the number and then there were 4.
4 sincere Christians worked early and late. Each won another and then there were 8.
8 splendid Christians if they doubled as before, in just so many Sunday’s we’d have 1,024.
In this little jingle, there is a lesson true, You belong either to the building or to the wrecking crew!

It’s a little bit corny certainly but it does contain a lot of truth about us as individuals and about the Church in general, and I think it’s quite appropriate as we think about that reading from Luke’s gospel (21:1-18).

There are many different lessons to be learned from that reading, but one of them that is often, I think, overlooked, is the need to live for today, putting all of our trust in God, and trying to glorify him in everything that we do, and in doing so, help to build his kingdom.

In the reading of course we hear Jesus talking about the value, or more accurately, lack of value of material things. He talks of the stones of the Temple being torn down. We hear some of his guidance about the end times, as he talks of nation rising against nation, famines, earthquakes and plagues.

But as Jesus talks about the future and the end times I wonder if he is not making more of a point about today, and the need to live as I said earlier, for today, not in a reckless manner, but in a way that reveals our trust in the God of our everlasting future. And here I believe we have the biggest lesson of all.

Many people today do live their lives in a reckless manner – living for today, and as if tomorrow doesn’t matter. There are people who spend money, often that they haven’t even got, who will worry about the consequences later, there are people who get involved in all kinds of brief relationships, if ‘relationships’ isn’t in fact too strong a term.

‘Live for today’ has often become a motto for irresponsible and foolish living, but actually that’s not what it should be. In Jesus’ terms I think he suggests we should live for today because we can’t do anything about tomorrow, and today has enough work to do all of its own – all we can ever do is place our lives in his care, seeking his guidance.

That is living for today and trusting in God – the God of the everlasting future…

Jesus talks about the nations rising against nations and so on, but he suggests that we should never be distracted by things, but rather keep our eyes focused very firmly on the job in hand…

And that job is to share the gospel – that job is to accept any of the costs that come with that, and to give thanks if we are privileged enough to be chosen for the task.

This week I was out with a couple of friends and there were some differences of opinions over the future of the Church, and perhaps society in general, but one thing that came out very clearly was the need to ensure that at all times and in all places we are offering a joyful, encouraging and hopeful message about God to people. Those things must be reflected both in our actions and in our words.

There will be many different ways of doing that, but the most important one of all is to be prepared and committed to the task. Constantly throughout the New testament we find places where we are reminded that the task of sharing the gospel message is not just a task for a few - As a Church, as the body of Christ on earth today, we can’t simply leave the work of spreading the gospel to others – it is a job in which all of us must play an active part.

A couple of weeks ago I heard a quote about a definition of the Church, and that is the part that is left when all the walls have been taken down, in other words, you and me, and then last week I read a similar quote which this time said, ‘The Church is what is left after the walls have crumbled, and the preacher has left town.’

Again we are reminded in this that the job of sharing the gospel is all of ours, and we can do it, because the gospel is very simple. Yes, we often try to complicate it with long theological words, and with academic debate and discussion, and probably in my Church more than yours, with rituals during services and so on, but how much we do those things,it really is simple.

The simple gospel is about Jesus loving each one of us enough to come down here, and to suffer and to die for us, and it is also about Jesus defeating death once and for all, conquering the power not just of death, but of sin in general, and by that he offers hope for today, and a message not to worry about tomorrow.

That is the message that has changed millions of lives over centuries, and that is the message that is still going on changing lives today.

But getting that message of the gospel out into the world is also about commitment – it is about choosing to not just take the bits of Jesus’ words that we like, or think we can do, but to take in the whole picture, which is often more demanding – love your neighbours may be easy enough, but the gospel also, of course, says love your enemies and that’s not so easy… (Although having said that, G LK Chesterton once wrote that Jesus said love your neighbours and love your enemies, because they’re usually the same people !)

But as that principle of loving our enemies is one of the non negotiable foundation stones of our faith, it’s pretty easy to understand how difficult a call to commitment we actually have!

During the last week I read some statistics – it was actually in an article from America. The headline proudly declared ‘America is Number 1’. Now, I’ve been to America a few times, and I love the country and a lot of the people, but an article in an American magazine declaring ‘America is number 1’ really doesn’t come as any great surprise if you know what I mean !

But what followed was more of a surprise : The article talked about America being number 1 – Number 1 in the world for teenage pregnancy, for violent crime, drug abuse, divorce, child abuse, child crime, abortion – the list could go on.

In short there wasn’t one thing to be proud of anywhere in the list – and yet we often look at America as the height of civilised and advanced society in the world. There’s another alarming fact and that is that Britain isn’t very far behind on any of these things…

Every one of us will watch news programmes, or read newspapers, so often filled with stories of misery; so often filled with stories of pain and suffering, of anger and conflict. The world in which we live today is often very visibly bad, and in need of something good, something hopeful and something joyful. It is also in need of something peaceful and something lasting.

And so as we think of the society in which we live, we are called to work and minister, we are called to commit ourselves to a task which could not be more important, and that is sharing some hope and some encouragement out into the world…

As Churches we must ask ourselves if we are doing enough, and the answer will be ‘NO’, because we can always do more…

Many will say that the Church hasn’t got a relevant message to offer – some will say that they’re not interested in the gospel because they don’t think it’s got anything to offer to them. They could not be more wrong.

In a Gideons dinner on Saturday, one of the speakers quoted the current Archbishop of Canterbury who in presenting Bibles to some youngsters said, ‘If you read this book, it will teach you a lot about God, and a lot about yourself’….

Because God does tell us a lot through his word about all kinds of things – there is a message there for the teenage mother, the abused child, the alcoholic, the drug abuser, the criminal, the lonely, the neglected… and so on…

There is a message for young and old, for rich and poor… There is a message for all !

And people who hear the gospel spoken to them or who see the gospel lived out in the lives of Christians, will realise that the message of that gospel is one that is relevant to them, and capable of changing even the hardest or the darkest of lives for the better.

There are millions who can testify to that fact.

The gospel message that Jesus gives us in this reading that we’ve heard today is not just about the Temple crashing down, it is not just about nation rising against nation, or earthquakes or famines and plagues – it is about living for today, and trusting God completely.

It is about offering a message of hope to those who are in the depths of despair today, and a message of salvation to those who may be struggling with life in all kinds of different ways.

Finally it is a message that calls us back to thinking about a basic vision for the future – a vision in which we may have to ask ourselves difficult questions, a vision in which we may have to look at how we as a Church do things, but above all a vision that will place the gospel of Jesus Christ right at the centre of our lives and the need to proclaim that gospel through words and actions right as the top of our priorities.

Let us pray : Heavenly Father, we come before you and lay our lives open before you. It is you who knows our deepest thoughts, our weaknesses, our strengths and our fears. It is you to whom we must turn to seek our guidance.

Help us to seek out your vision – the vision that can transform our lives, and the lives of others, and to follow your will wherever it leads, and whatever the cost.

And so bless each one of us Lord, that we may serve you faithfully and positively for your glory and for the extension of your kingdom. These and all our prayers we ask through your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. AMEN