Means of Grace: Tumbleweed or fruitful tree?

Series: Means of Grace - Bible Scripture: Psalm 1 Title: "Tumbleweed or fruitful tree?" I’ve been talking the last few weeks about grace. I talked about what grace is and why it is so amazing. I am convinced that grace goes against our society’s values, but that it is exactly what our world needs more than anything. God’s grace is a powerful thing, and it is something that really cannot be explained properly. It is something that can only be experienced. So I am talking about different ways that you can experience grace. Last week I talked about worship, and that our primary job as a church is to worship in a way that helps people encounter God, to help people feel grace. Worship in and of itself is meaningless, idle chatter, unless people feel the presence of God. This week I am talking about the Bible. It too is a means of grace. People may wonder what the Bible is, why it is so special. The answer is simple. It is a way for people to encounter God - it is a means of Grace. But like I said, grace is not something you can always explain. It is something that you feel. So I decided I would tell you a story of a time that I experienced grace through the Bible. After I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan, I moved to Edwardsville. I was a graduate assistant sports information director there for two years. During those two years I did a lot of growing up, and I cherish the experience of living on my own for two years, but at the time it was very difficult. I was farther away from home than I had ever been. This was the first time that I lived with someone that I did not know. It was also the first time I lived in a city I had never been to. I was terribly lonely because I knew no one, and the most important person in my life at the time - Sarah - had two years left in college 150 miles away. I remember a very numb feeling. I was going through the motions. I went to class. I went to work. I watched TV. I tried to make some new friends, but I was mostly sad most of the time. Every once in awhile I would think about picking up my Bible. The thought would just come to me, but I wouldn’t feel like getting up, or I would decide to read some of my homework instead, or I would just watch more TV. I can’t really explain why I wouldn’t read my Bible, but every time I felt a strong desire to read it, for some reason I resisted. I was suffering through a general lethargy - going through the motions without much life - just looking forward to the next time I could see Sarah. Then one day I was doing some pushups, and while lying on the floor I noticed my Bible. It had been pushed under the bed. So I reached in and picked it up. I had put it off long enough, so I decided to start reading. I didn’t know where to begin, so I started from "In the beginning..." I read a few chapters, marked my page and went on with my day. I decided to read it every day. I would read a few chapters a night in the midst of my reading for school. This went on for about a week when something powerful and totally unexpected happened. I was reading in Genesis 29 about Jacob - who would later be called Israel. He would become the father of 12 sons, one of whom was Joseph. Anyway, I was reading about how he met Rachel, the woman he loved. In the story he is living with his uncle Laban. He had to get away from home because he was afraid that his brother was going to get him for stealing his inheritance. While there he meets Rachel, and he falls for her immediately, and wants to marry her. But Laban does not want him to marry Rachel, so he makes Jacob work for him for seven years. And then I read verse 20 of chapter 29, "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her." The moment I read that verse, something powerful happened. There in my bed in Edwardsville, I experienced God’s grace. I was given a peace I had not felt since moving to that place. Nothing had changed about my situation. I still had no close friends near me. My family was still 300 miles to the north. Sarah still had two year left of college. Nothing about my physical circumstances had changed, and yet my world was transformed through the Scripture. In that moment, I entered the story and made it my own. I felt connected to this story about Jacob, willing to work for the woman he loved. God spoke to me through the story and told me that things would be all right. Jacob worked for seven years, but it seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. I knew I would work for two years separated from Sarah, but in that moment I knew that it would seem to me but a few days because of the love I had for her. In that passage I encountered God. I was given grace. I was given peace. I knew that our love would endure. I knew that I was there for a reason. Did I still miss her? Of course. But I was given the grace to be able to live with missing her. I was able to take what had been a painful situation and make it into a positive. Now seven years after that I can look back and see great value from those two years. I learned a lot about cooking and laundry and budgeting and paying bills. In those two years I found a church home on my own for the first time. I began the process toward the ministry. In those two years Sarah and I learned that we could live apart from each other - but also learned that we didn’t really want to. Very shortly after my time in Edwardsville we were married, and my sister read that obscure passage from Genesis at our wedding. This is just one story about how I once encountered God through the Bible. I wonder if any of you have had a similar experience with the Bible. Has there been a time when you read from the Bible and came to a new understanding about something in your life. A time when you read the Bible and found peace and comfort in times of desperation. A time when you read the Bible and encountered God. I would venture to guess that has happened to many of the people here. That is the power of the Bible. It is a means of grace. When you read the Bible, you are given an opening to the Spirit. You are given an opening to God’s will. It is a way to encounter God in a real and powerful way. To know the Bible is to know the will of God. That is why we call it the word of God. We call the Bible the Word of God, but such a phrase can mean a lot of different things. We need to be careful. The Bible is a powerful tool, but it must be used cautiously. It must be used reverently and above all, it must be used intelligently. For one person to claim to know the Bible, and then dictate their will to others is inappropriate and dangerous. The Bible can be used for much good in the world. When the Bible is used as a means of grace, then it can help make us whole. It can heal. It can comfort. It can restore. It can liberate. But the Bible has also been used wrongly. It can be used for self-indulgence. It can be used to support tyranny. It can be used to oppress others. In the history of the world, much evil has been done in the name of Christ, supported by words in the Bible. Such evils as the Holocaust, the subjugation of women, the American slave economy and ongoing racism all have been called sanctioned by the "Word of God." And don’t think those things are all a part of the past. We must be as careful as ever of ways that people promote injustice in the name of our Bible. One way to guard against such misuse is to use more than just the words on the pages of the precious book. Certain words, taken out of context, can be found to support just about anything. When we use the Bible, we must allow ourselves to be informed by the many that have come before us. The tradition of the church universal, and the tradition of the United Methodist Church must be valued. We cannot pick up the Bible and dismiss the work of Augustine, Clement, Luther, Wesley, and scholars of today like Marcus Borg and John Cobb (another Methodist). We must use also our ability to reason. God gave us minds for a purpose, and I believe that the more we use intellect to probe the Scriptures, to understand the variances of translations, to know the time from which the stories came, to know who wrote them, and why and for what purpose, can only deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Bible. And we must trust our own experience of the holy. There are times, like my moment in Edwardsville, when we come to an understanding that cannot be described or explained in any way other than, "I feel it." The Bible is to be read in light of the tradition that comes before us. It is to be read with an analytical mind, with the power of reason to draw understanding from it. And it is to be read with feeling, open to an experience of the Spirit that can touch and heal in real and powerful ways. The Bible, when used properly, can be a way to encounter God. It is a means of grace. That is what we read in Psalm 1. Happy is the one who dwells on the law of the Lord. Many think of this as more Old Testament legalism. But that is not a fair way to judge the Psalm. We have to remember that the Bible was not written in English. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. When we focus on the word "law," most people don’t know that the word in Hebrew that we get "law" from is "Torah." Torah is an interesting word. It does mean law, but it means so much more. The Torah is actually the first five books of the Bible. Yes, it certainly contains laws, but it also contains stories. Within the Torah are stories of Creation, of Noah’s deliverance from the flood, of Abraham’s family and faith. Within the Torah are stories of the Hebrews being freed from Egypt. The Torah is full of stories of God saving the people. God saves Cain from those that might be looking for vengeance. God saves Noah from the flood. God saves Abraham from inability to have a son. God saves Jacob from bitter sibling rivalry. God saves Joseph from his spiteful brothers, and saves the Hebrews from a terrible famine. God saves the Hebrews from the oppressive Pharaoh and finally saves them from disorder and anarchy by giving them the law. The Torah is full of God’s saving grace. It includes law, but it also includes instruction on how to live according to God’s will. So when the Psalmist writes happy is the one who delights in the Torah. This no unfeeling, dogmatic, legalistic plea to obedience. Happy is the one who delights in the Torah is about grace. When one meditates on the Torah - on the will of God - they are like a tree planted by the stream. This poetic language describes someone that has been given grace, someone that is productive, fruitful and healthy. The one who delights in the Torah - the one who reads and engages the Bible - is one who encounters God. The one who delights in the Torah is one that uses the Bible as a means of grace, and is made whole, who is comforted, and full of life. When I first moved to Edwardsville, I felt a lot like the chafe. I could be pushed and moved by any wind. I went around without feeling, without energy, without purpose. I was separated from my roots, and felt as if there was no source of life. I dwelled upon all that was wrong, all that hurt and all that was good in my life. But then something happened. I picked up the Bible. I began to read the Torah, and suddenly I was made whole again. I was like the tree planted near the water. I found the source of life, and knew that I had a purpose. I knew that I had love in my life, and I knew that with God I would be able to endure. Too many Christians are like the chafe. Do you feel that way sometimes? Do you feel like you are being blown in every direction? Pushed by this wind, then this wind, tossed and turned and unable to stop and catch your breath. It is a common ailment in modern society. There are so many winds. There are so many storms. There are so many things that distract us from what is good and life-giving. If that is how you feel, stop trying to fight the wind. Instead, search for the water. Become like the tree near the water. Delight in the Bible of the Lord. Go to its pages and read. It doesn’t matter where. If you like poetry, read the Psalms, read them out loud. You will encounter every human emotion. You will encounter love and gratitude; but you will also encounter fear and anger. If you like stories, read Genesis. Read about the many ways that God has saved. Read the Gospels. Encounter Jesus again. Each of the four gospels we find in our Bible tell of Jesus from a different perspective. They were written at different times, for different communities and have different theological bents to them. Or pick up an Upper Room in the narthex and read it every day. Or come to a Bible study. Right now, we really have only one, but there will be more offered in the fall. I love teaching, and I hope all of you will participate in a Bible study either during the week or on Sunday morning this fall. I cannot tell you how powerful it can be to engage the Bible with another group of people. It can be difficult to read sometimes, but when you do it with others, you end up helping each other out, and coming to deeper knowledge, and more profound encounters with God. The Bible is a wellspring. And to leave it alone on your shelf collecting dust is to ignore the greatest source of energy available to you. Delight in the Bible. Allow it to be your source of water, your source of life. Encounter God through the words of the Bible. Go to the Bible, go to the water, and be the tree planted near the stream. Will there still be winds? Of course, but your roots will run deep, and no matter how strong the wind blows, you will be safe, and fruitful, blessed, happy, and whole. Amen.

(I am deeply indebted to Dr. Clint McCann for this sermon. A Psalms scholar and professor of Biblical Theology at Eden Theological Seminary, Dr. McCann was a tremendous influence on my academic career. His works include A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms and the Psalms article in the New Interpreters' Bible)