Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Hebrews 1:1-4

Think of all the ways that you communicate in just one day: phone calls, texting, FaceTime or Skype, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, MarcoPolo, Snapchat, TV, websites, newspapers, letters and the good old fashioned face-to-face conversation are some that come to my mind immediately. Living in the “information age,” we have so many opportunities to give and receive information. When you think about it, we are using words all of the time. Sometimes it becomes overwhelming, too much to absorb. Especially with a barrier of a screen in front of our face or with profiles of people unknown to us, it becomes easier to use words to tear down or say things we would never say to someone personally. This morning we are diving into the book of Hebrews, which starts with an emphasis on God’s Word for us, which is a lifegiving Word. It’s a comforting message to hear among all the noise and bombardment of information that God is still speaking, and that God’s Word is more important than any other message out there. How do we listen? How do we keep the faith that God is still speaking?
The author of Hebrews begins, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son.” God has always spoken to his people, and God will continue to speak to us, in many and various ways. As Christians, when we talk about God’s Word we first think of the Bible, of course. As an English major in college, the Bible amazes me even if you just look at it as a work of literature. These are not just ordinary words! The book of Hebrews, in particular, is masterfully written. We lose some of the artistry of the language in English. For example, the passage that we are looking at today is called a “period” in Greek – it is just one sentence that makes a complete circle around the Greek alphabet. The author uses alliteration with the letter “pi” and sets up this past-future continuum that is just beautiful if you look at it this way:
Spoke has spoken
In the past in these last days
To our ancestors to us
By the prophets by a Son

We don’t know who the author of Hebrews was, but from the context we know he was a leader of a Christian community, likely in Rome, of second-generation Christians, some Jewish and some Gentile, and highly educated. The author refers often to the Hebrew Scriptures, especially to the Psalms. We call Hebrews a letter, but it is written more like a long sermon, and some parts may have been used as pieces of liturgy for early worship, like this first part of the book we’re looking at today. All of this is to say that some people really like this book because there is so much to unpack in its language and references to other parts of Scripture, and others find it difficult to understand, rightfully so. In its precise and beautiful language, we see how this book in addition to other books of the Bible are inspired by God – this is a way God still speaks to us in these last days just as God spoke to our ancestors. All of scripture is so important to us, beyond its literary value as a life-giving word of God to us.
It’s important to remember also, however, that for John, for the author of Hebrews, and for us as Lutheran Christians, God’s Word is first and foremost not a book, but is Jesus the Christ. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,” John reminds us. Before there were books, before there were human beings to speak, God spoke everything into being. That is the sustaining power of God’s powerful word beyond words on a page. For many of our ancestors in the faith, these stories of the prophets, of Sarah and Abraham, Moses and the Israelites, Ruth and Naomi and so on were passed on orally because they could not read or write or because paper and papyrus was so expensive a community might just have one copy. These stories were spoken over and over again before they were written down. And the stories themselves tell of ways God has spoken to us in many and various ways: to Joseph and the pharaoh in dreams that Joseph could interpret. To Moses in a burning bush. To Jonah in a belly of a whale. To Hagar in the wilderness. To Nathan, who was bold enough to confront King David for his sins. The author of Hebrews reminds us today to hear these words of scripture not just as interesting historical facts, but that these same words have the power to inspire us, convict us of our sin, lead us to repentance, drive us to our knees in awe, give us comfort and peace in the midst of difficult times, and shower us with words of love from the One who has always been and always will be. God’s Word is living and active – sharper than a two-edged sword, Hebrews 4:12 says. God speaks to us still today to our present reality. These are not just dusty words on a page reserved for someone else a long time ago. These are words of life for us.
This is where the author of Hebrews really drives it home by saying that God has always spoken to us in many and various ways through these Old Testament stories we know well, through the prophets, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” Christ the Word made flesh is the most important Word. We can think of the red letter Bible where in the gospels all of Jesus’ words are printed in red. Martin Luther said that the Bible is the cradle that holds the Christ child. Wherever the written word reveals who Christ is for us, Luther said, those words are more important than any other words for our lives. But again, beyond written words, we confess that Christ in the flesh speaks most powerfully to us, still today. Christ, truly present in the bread and wine we will receive at communion today, speaking words of forgiveness and abundant life. Christ, on the cross, making purification for sins and sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high, calling us to look forward to the kingdom of heaven and work for God’s kingdom here on Earth. Christ in the hungry, thirsty, naked, prisoner, stranger speaking to us in pictures through our daily newsfeeds that make us a little less comfortable with our middle-class status quo and a little more generous in our giving to the least of these.
Pastor Rich and I have talked a lot about how we listen to God through scripture reading, prayer, silence, and through each other. We have encouraged you all to share our God sightings with each other by talking about them and writing them down. Today’s scripture makes me wonder if we should also share our “God hearings.” Where has God spoken to you through all those forms of communication we use today? Through dreams, visions, modern-day prophets, family members, teachers, strangers and Holy Scripture; in many and various ways God has spoken and continues to speak to us through Christ, the Word made flesh, the Son. Amen.

Rebecca Sheridan
June 30, 2019
Psalm 27

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Just that first verse of Psalm 27 basically sums up the gospel – God is our light, our salvation, and our stronghold, therefore, we have no one and nothing to fear. Jesus echoes this psalm in Matthew when he asks us over and over again to not worry but to trust God. Let’s be real, here. Having faith instead of and in spite of fear, is tough. Putting away our anxiety and worries to trust God, especially in those things we can’t control, is much easier said than done. I’m sure I’m not the only one that was up at least one night this week at three in the morning, worrying about things that in the daylight weren’t so important or worth keeping me up at night. In Psalm 27, we hear God calling us back and back again to trusting God, to remembering who God is for us, and that ultimately, we have nothing to fear.
This past week we wrapped up summer swimming lessons with our girls, which was us as parents and our children together in the water guided by an instructor. It’s funny as a parent how those memories that you thought you’d forgotten come back sometimes of your own childhood. I love to swim – I would swim every day if I could and growing up they called me a fish. I am drawn to the water. I could say I barely remember being afraid of the water. But when the lifeguard asked us to flip our girls from a front to a back float and try to get them to put their heads back so that their ears touched the water, they freaked out. I remembered that same sensation of the cold water on the back of my head and having a similar reaction of wanting to sit up so that my head would not be in the water. I remembered what it was like to be afraid of floating on my back. Of course, if you sit up or become rigid on your back in the water, you start to sink…you can’t float! Being afraid is actually counter-productive to floating. So for two weeks, Monday through Thursday night, Rich and I would say “I’ve got you. I won’t let you go. It’s OK, just trust me. Relax.” And I would say that our girls are getting there, but there not there yet in trusting us to help them back float!
Doesn’t our faith in God sometimes feel like learning to back float? This is how God asks us to put our trust in him, over and over again, and so often how we respond – relax, put your head back, enjoy the water! And we’re rigidly trying to sit up, turn over, arms and legs flailing as we feel like we’re drowning. Yet the Lord, our loving parent, is holding us the whole time. Verse ten in today’s Psalm even says “Though my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in.” That is a powerful reassurance…even when our human parents fail, the people perhaps we have the most trust in, God will not leave us and will be there all the time, no matter what. For those of you who have experienced the loss of one or both of your parents, or for those of you who have an estranged relationship, this verse is particularly meaningful. When our parents are no longer with us or are untrustworthy, God is still our light, our stronghold, and our salvation, never letting us go.
It may be evident at this point for me to tell you that Psalm 27 is a trust psalm. As we reflect on several psalms this summer in our short series on the psalms, it’s important to know that the psalms are there for us when we’re feeling a range of emotions – 150 Psalms to speak to us where we’re at for any situation. There are royal psalms likely first written for Israel’s monarchy, liturgical psalms used for worship, psalms of thanksgiving and praise, psalms written for a group of people and psalms written for individuals. Next week we’ll look specifically at a psalm of praise, last week we reflected on a psalm of lament or a psalm asking for help. While it’s helpful for us to know the original context of what might be going on for the writer of a psalm, just like for any part of scripture, the psalms are my go-to for pastoral care and for suggesting to people who want to grow closer to God through scripture. It’s amazing how many times I can read a psalm and say, “Wow, it’s like this passage is speaking directly to me and to my situation.” In that sense, all of the psalms help build up our faith and trust in God by allowing us to express a full range of emotions to God.
What’s important to know about this being a trust psalm specifically, is that while the psalmist is so clear that we can trust God from beginning to end, he is also clear that faith is about trusting in God when life is not a bed of roses. Trust psalms are for people who are in real trouble: “When evildoers close in against me to devour my flesh…”though war rise up against me,” “though an army encamp against me.” This psalmist, likely King David, has a few more serious troubles than I have! David’s answers to his troubles come from his faith in God…”my heart will not fear, my trust will not be shaken…”For in the day of trouble God will give me shelter.” This psalm of trust is a reminder for all of us who are trying to keep our head above water and calm our anxieties by putting our trust in God. Our faith is not shaken when life gets tough. It does not mean that our faith or trust in God is weak when bad things are happening to us. Trusting in God also means giving up some control, relaxing, laying our head back into the water to enjoy the ride, letting God lead us on the lazy river of life, rather than fighting against the current. David asks God to “teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path.” David does not ask God for everything to go his way – rather, he asks God for the courage to live by God’s way.
We live in a fear-full world. We face nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea. Climate change threatens our species’ future. We can’t leave our children alone even to play in our own backyards, and many of us wonder how we’ll ever get out of debt or pay the bills. There are plenty of things we can be legitimately afraid of, and I don’t mean to minimize our real fears. It is true, though, that our human tendency seems to be to dwell on our problems, imagine worst-case scenarios, exaggerate the bad and minimize the good. Scripture is pretty clear from the Old Testament to the new, from David’s lips and Jesus’, that we as believers live by faith in the face of fear. We seek God’s guidance and way to not be completely overwhelmed and paralyzed by our fears and anxieties. We place our trust in God because we know there are many people and situations we simply cannot trust, including ourselves. Simply put, we do not serve and worship our fears, we serve and worship God who is more powerful and loving than any situation life can throw at us, including death itself. The Lord is my light and salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Amen.