One of my
fondest dreams is that when I get to heaven I will meet the person who coined
the phrase, "sticks and stone will break my bones but names will never hurt
me." While I am sure there is some truth to those words, they do not describe
my experience. There have been many moments in my life where I would have preferred
to be hit by a stick or a stone rather than hear the words that were said to
me. The truth is that words have tremendous power. Words can destroy and tear
down. Words can create and build up. And if this is true of human words, what
of the words of God? All our scripture readings today deal with the power of words. The book of Nehemiah describes an unusual experience in the life of Israel. They have returned to Jerusalem after three generations in exile. They have rebuilt the Temple and the walls of the city. It is at this point that the priest Ezra calls the people together for worship in the town square. For six hours the scriptures are read. And the results are profound. The mere reading of the word causes the community to be renewed. The people weep. There are tears of sadness because they realize that they have abandoned God. There are tears of joy because they realize that God has never abandoned them.
The power of God's word. It can destroy bad attitudes and put new ones in their place. Kathleen Norris, one of the great spiritual writers of our time (Amazing Grace and The Cloister Walk), tells how she was reintroduced to the Christian faith and how her faith was restored. It happened much as it happened to the people in the book of Nehemiah. She gathered daily with some friends at a Benedictine monastery to hear lengthy readings of scripture. That was it, simply listening to long readings of scripture. She says that the words penetrated her heart and mind and placed her life on a new foundation. She now writes in a profound way of the firmness of faith and the joy given to her simply by hearing the reading of the Word.
And the Gospel of Luke talks about another word which brings about healing in every person who receives it. Jesus preaches his very first words in the synagogue at Nazareth. He reads from the book of Isaiah and describes the healing that takes place when we receive God's word. And then he gives his very first sermon: "These words have been fulfilled in your hearing." In other words, to receive me is to receive the healing that I describe. He is the word that heals.
The writer of the series, Worship Alive, tells about some words of Jesus that healed a severely ill woman. One day a doctor came to her hospital bed and announced, "Your liver is ceasing to function. We've done all the tests we can do. We don't know how to help you." He didn't say, "you are about to die," but she knew that was the prognosis.
Immediately she went into a rage. "This is really great, God! You gave me such a miserable life. You gave me nothing as a child. I had to grow up in a cold-water-flat. All I knew was poverty. Now, after years of hard work, I've finally made something of myself. I'm just beginning to enjoy life, and you are taking it away!" She stumbled down the hall in her weakened condition so that she could continue spouting her anger in the chapel. She collapsed into a pew and continued her angry monologue, but for some reason the words imprinted on the altar silenced her. Just three words, "You are forgiven."
She stumbled back to her room, collapsed into bed and slept. When she awakened that morning she knew that something had changed. The doctors did some more tests. This time the doctor said, "Your liver is functioning again. We don't know why." But the woman knew why. The words on the altar had released her from a resentment that she had nurtured all her life. Once the resentment ended, the illness ended. The word of God had mended her.
In his letter to the Corinthians (l Cor. 12) the Apostle Paul also shares some life-giving words, words that helped renew a congregation in turmoil. Rev. Barabara Brown Taylor has this to say about his words: "Words were the only strength he had left, so he had made piles and piles of them, rolling them up and passing them through the bars of his cell like pieces of his own heart. On the one hand it was absurd. Words to save a church from ruin? What were mere words? Black marks on a sheet of paper; letters strung together across a page, by someone tethered to his desk like an animal in a cage. On the other hand, it was the truth and Paul knew it. The word of God is not chained. It breaks all bonds, escapes all prisons. It sprouts wings; it flies off the page. It creates the world, the church, the human being, as often as any of them needs creating. The word of God is not chained."
And what are the words that Paul gives to them? He tells them that they were created for life together. He tells them that each person is indispensable, each plays an essential role in the Body of Christ, each is given a special gift for the building up of the community. If we refuse to believe that we are indispensable, if we refuse to live in community, if we refuse to use our gift, we diminish ourselves and we diminish the community.
Pastor Elizabeth Conroy, a Lutheran pastor in Canada, gives us a picture of what Christian community looks like -- the kind of life we are called to live. She talks about Dave and Carol, two members of her church who have been married for 55 years. At one point Carol began to experience severe memory loss. Up until then they did everything together. They worked together in developing 33 acres into prime, fruit-bearing land. They raised four children. They were active in their church. Everyone who knew them commented on how they worked as one.
How well they worked together was especially apparent in the last four years. Carol was told she had Alzheimer's disease, and she was frightened about what would happen. As the disease progressed, she became more and more forgetful, and Dave assumed more and more of the household tasks. His goal was to take care of her in such a way that she would not be hurt by anyone or anything.
Two years later doctors found a tumor in Dave's large intestine. Unfortunately, when they removed it they nicked his intestine in such a way that there was only six inches left. This meant that in addition to chemotherapy, Dave had problems keeping food in his system long enough to benefit from it. As Dave grew weaker, Carol grew more frightful. In her desperation she would say, "What good am I when I can't even take care of you?" Dave's answer was simple. He said, "You are my strength and I am your memory. We will work together in the same way we've always worked-as one."
So often we assume that we have life when we live just for ourselves, that we diminish ourselves when we give ourselves away. The truth is that when we live that way we are making a pact with death. The truth is that we only have life when we trust God's word that each of us is indispensable and that true life is life for and with each other.
God's word has power. The mere reading of it can change us. It has the power to mend our lives. It creates the community that we need. So, here's the question: if that's the case, what are we doing with God's word?
1. Is it a priority in our lives?
2. Are our Bible's well worn?
3. When Bible study is offered, do we participate?
4. What are we doing as a congregation to increase Bible literacy?
If the greatest power that exists is the power of the word, these are questions that we need to answer