July 27, 2003
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The
power of passion is that is moves us to do things. Think of passion as that
which raises up in us a sense of desire, or excitement, or fire. We are
compelled by our passions. The things that compel us have a powerful and
irresistible influence on us. The
President of the United States can compel the military to deploy anywhere in the
world he thinks necessary. The desire to avoid having to pay for a parking
ticket compels me to drive within the speed limit most of the time. Parents can
sometimes compel their children to clean their rooms and develop good study
habits. When we are compelled by something, we are moved to act. To be compelled
by faith is to be moved to use the power we have as believers and as people
wanting a close relationship with Jesus Christ to bring glory to God. I know there was a time when churches, especially mainline Protestant churches had great influence in the culture and it seems that much of the influence of the church has passed us by. Nevertheless, we are powerful people. What the church does, or does not do in response to human need in the world makes a difference in the world. So I am glad that groups
like BREAD exist, and that we could invite our neighbors to our adult Vacation
Bible School class. We wanted them to know that we intend to be involved in
issues faced by the Olde Towne East community, because what we do here matters.
But the church is not only influential here. Every continent in the world has
felt the positive power of the church. Hospitals, schools, and decent shelter
exist in many parts of the world because the witness of the church is such that
members believed it should be so. Every movement for human
rights, for the basic freedoms that are ours by citizenship on this earth have
been upheld by people of faith. That is a good thing, and it is one more proof
that what the church does make a difference in people’s lives and in the
world. Even in times of turmoil the church stands firm. For example in the
recent SARS outbreak, it was the missionaries who were the last to leave Hong
Kong and other cities where the illness occurred, if they left at all. The same
has been true in place of war and other disasters. What compels you? I know
faith is not always the first thing that springs into your mind. Our families,
our work, school, just living life has a powerful influence on us. The lack of
enough money and how to get more, having enough or too much money and wanting to
know how to protect it, are the stuff of compulsion. Fear sometimes compels us.
We fear crime in the streets and in our homes, we know the fear of terrorism,
and the helplessness it causes. We know the frustration of fear-based prejudices
around race, sex, age, and orientation, some of which are our own. This story of David shows us
how our own arrogance and desire can compel us. Even though he has to ask her
name, he does not know her, David is compelled by a deep urge, he sends for her,
the king sends for Bathsheba, she is brought to him, they are intimate with one
another and a child is conceived. One writer describes David
as “a genuinely foolish man who had become so powerful that he imagined he is
exempt from God’s law and could act for his own desire. His self-indulgent
misperception of his life begins a terrible tale of destructiveness for his
family” (Texts for Preaching – Year B.
Louisville, Westminster/John Knox Press. 1993, p.438). Not only is David compelled
to have another man’s wife, he is also compelled to cover up his
faithlessness. To hide his responsibility for what happened, David conspires to
bring Bathsheba’s husband Uriah home from the field, so that he can go home,
enjoy the company of his wife, and be presented as the father of her child. But
Uriah is a man of honor and will not enjoy himself while his soldiers are still
in harm’s way. David then conspires with Joab to put Uriah on the frontlines
of the battlefield where he can be killed, and so Uriah dies a soldier’s
death. David is so compelled by his lust and arrogance that he in order to hide
his adultery, he abuses his power as the king of Israel to evade his
responsibility. Of course the question is
raised as to whether or not Bathsheba is a victim of David’s abuse of power or
if she is complicit in his actions. Some would make the case that she timed her
bath to coincide with the king’s rooftop walk.
We do not know. We do know that a summons from the king is not easily
ignored. We know that in a time when women had no rights, to refuse the king was
to put one’s life in jeopardy. We know that David is about inward compulsions,
that can grow out of our fears and our desires. David’s is one kind of
compulsion. And while it may not always be our first answer, the truth is that
our faith ought to compel us, it ought to have an influence on how we live our
lives. I believe that our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to act. After all,
faith should not make us passive. In fact, it should cause us to rise up in us
some incredible energy and activity. I have shared with you before that the
vision statement of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) declares our
desire to be a growing, faithful community that demonstrates true community,
deep spirituality, and a passion for justice. I affirm that vision and mission
for the denomination, and I affirm it for this congregation. What kind of community would
Broad Street Christian Church be if we did all that we can to make everyone,
whether long time member or first time visitor feel at home here? How strong
would we be if we each of us was committed to practice as often as we can the
spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, study, stewardship, helping, and
mission? Our statement of affirmation that says we welcome all to this place and
to Christ’s table is a clear call to justice, how will we build on it? My
dream for us is that we grow as we build on who we are, a marvelous collection
of God’s people who want to grow in numbers and in our spiritual lives. That
is a healthy compulsion. It is healthy because it
reminds us that we are about the things that help us to connect with other
people, and so help us connect with God. I titled today’s sermon “Compelled
by Faith, A Holy Preposition” because prepositions are words that are about
connection, and the truth is that we are connected to each other and to the
communities around us. What makes our connections holy is that they have to do
with our relationship to God. There are five. The first preposition is to.
“To” is a preposition that suggests that we are meant for movement. Our
bodies are built for movement. We stand upright, our legs and arms propel us
forward, some of us may move more slowly, and with some help, but we are built
to move. Our bodies and our spirits are meant to move. But our movement is not
treadmill movement in which our legs and arms move, and we may even work up a
sweat, but we really don’t go anywhere. Our movement toward something takes
seriously the call of Jesus Christ to love, and to move out beyond our selves.
As I say these things, I am not suggesting that we need to always look outward
and so deny the inner self. Of course, part of our journey needs to be spent
alone reflecting on what it means to be in communion with God. We grow stronger
as we move toward one another, and as we move toward God. It is the compulsion to
movement that leads to the second preposition; we are compelled by faith for
service. The preposition for suggests belonging and purpose. Our purpose as
Christians is service because we follow Jesus who is both servant and Savior. That is why Paul urges the
Ephesians and the Christians reading this letter today to be faithful in their
Christian lives. By doing so, God’s work will be seen in us. What will they
see? They will see that we are rooted like a firm bed in which plants are set;
we are grounded, like the strong base of a building that strong base on which
the structure rests and rises. They will see that we are
compelled to know God, that we love Jesus and that we have the love of Jesus in
us. (Interpretation series, Ralph Martin. Ephesians,
Colossians, Philemon, Louisville. John Knox Press, 1991, p.45).
They will see it because they will see that we are people of faith
compelled to the kind of service that neither looks down on the served nor on
the server from a perspective of moral or religious superiority. Indeed it
respects the dignity and worth of those with whom we are in service. The third preposition, with,
describes the process of accompanying. Throughout scripture we hear the promise,
“I will be with you, I will go with you”. Every now and then we sing,
“Take the name of Jesus with you, child
of sorrow and of woe, it will joy and comfort give you. Take it then wherever
you go.” With also speaks to
the difficulty of our journey of faith. When we are in physical pain or
emotional turmoil, it can seem that only God is with us, only Christ can heal
us, only the Holy Spirit can sustain us. It is knowing that there is a divine
spirit going through it with us that gives us the courage to endure. If we take
as our definition of faith the words of Hebrews 11.1 that “faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen” it
becomes clear that to be compelled by faith is also to be compelled with
courage. Only a courageous woman or man can be sure of that for which we can
only hope. Yet,
we are compelled by faith, with courage because we know that through all that
would discourage us: betrayal by trusted friends, misunderstanding by loved
ones, oppression by dictators and tyrants whose attitudes find dispensable
anyone who does not agree with them, we have a call from God. There still comes
the call from God to be faithful people, and to have courage. Courage leads to the fourth
preposition, which is by. By describes that which
is close to or next to. We are compelled by faith, and faith is next to hope.
Hope is the belief that the future will be better than today. In the church,
hope is that confidence that God holds the best possible future for us. Parents
have no idea how their children will grow up; but you live by the hope that as
you teach good values and provide an nurturing home, your children will become
responsible, caring, and productive adults. Congregations want growth, we may
not always know how to achieve it, but bit by bit we discern God’s will. We
study, and welcome, and teach, and share and act in hope that growth will occur.
We live by hope. The fifth preposition is through.
We are compelled by faith through love for the church of Jesus Christ. If
the preposition “through” indicates that something that goes in one side and
out the other. Then, think of love as this: God’s love is given to Jesus
Christ who passes it on to the world through us. We are to pass it back to Jesus
Christ to God, and to the people we encounter. It is for the love of God and
neighbor and ourselves that we all continue to be concerned for each other, and
it is because of our love that we choose to live as persons of faith. And
it is love that makes the compulsion of faith irresistible. One person has
spoken of the lure of God as that which draws us to the divine. Perhaps the acts
of love we show to each other are ways that God acts through us as we
make glad the places where we are. There is one more
preposition. I want to share with you is the word in.
In describes location. We live in a neighborhood, in a city, in a county, in a
state, in a nation, in the world. Our community may begin in this room and at
our doorstep, but it extends around the world. We are located in a particular
congregation, in a particular denomination, in a particular region of the
denomination. But we are part of a
great community of faith which is beyond denominational label because it places
us in the body of Christ. We are part of an eternal community that connects us
with people around the world. To work, worship, live, and
experience faith in community is to share in the ministry of the church. It is
to touch and to be touched by all of the prepositions of faith, the to, the for,
the with, the by, the through, and the in. When we take on these
holy prepositions we will deal well
with the compelling nature of our best selves. We will not be like David, in
this episode of his life. David was compelled
to take another man’s wife, because he wanted to, and because he was the king.
We can instead be like the Ephesians and remember that all of us belong to God. When we are moved by passion
and compelled by faith, we will indeed know what is the breadth, the length, the
height, and the depth, in other words we will know the full dimension of the
love of God. Then we can become the church we want to become.
Lord bring the day. And in the meantime help us to feel the passion you
have for us and then to return it to you. As we do, help us to say, thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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