03 Guess Who I Saw 052707

Pentecost Sunday - Did you ever have a word pop out at you from a sentence that
causes you to ask - "What does that word REALLY mean?" I had
that happen as I was preparing for this Pentecost sermon - commemorating
the day when the Holy Spirit came in a very dramatic way upon some
seventy disciples who were gathered together in one place - tongues of
fire appeared over their heads - a mighty wind was heard - more
importantly they knew without a shadow of a doubt that God was Present.
The Holy Spirit settled around their shoulders like a mantle that would
encase them forever.
In my preparation, I was, of course caught up in the Gospel of
John who has the highest Christology of any of the Gospels, that is, he
puts Jesus on a higher level - knowing him as God's son - not as you and
I are sons and daughters of God, but born of God - His Natural Son - we
may be a lot like him but not the same - even as our loved ones who pass
on before us watch over us in angelic way but are not angels per se.
There are angels and archangels - all kinds of beings - Jesus is a special
being - He is a Divine Being - "the only begotten son of God" - it was the
word, "begotten" that intrigued me - I had never really thought about it.
The dictionary didn't even have it, so I googled it. (I google at
least once each day - it's SO much fun!) It comes from the Greek
menogenes a compound word - mono - meaning only and genesis
meaning birth. Jesus is the only Son of God by nature. He is one of a
kind.
Jesus, being of the same essential nature as God could reveal
God as non other could do.
According to John, Jesus was the Expression of God - the logos
- the WORD of God. Remember how he said, "In the beginning was
the WORD, and the WORD was with God and the WORD was
God and without Him was not anything made that was made.
We have such a vested interest in this because it means that when
we see Jesus, we wee God! If I show you Jesus today, you can go out
from this place and say, GUESS WHO I SAW? And when they ask,
you can say, "I saw God."
Philip asked for clarity as to who Jesus was and he got it! That
reminds me of the homeowner who wrote to Acme Plumbing Company
inquiring about the use of hydrochloric acid in cleaning out pipes in his
house. The plumbing company replied, "Dear Sir: After due
consideration, we are pleased to advise you that the use of this
substance particularly over a sustained period of time could be
extremely disastrous to the integrity of your plumbing system!"
The homeowner wrote back: "Thank you for your kind reply.
I am pleased to hear that I may use hydrochloric acid without bad
effect." The plumbing company replied, "Dear Sir: Please allow us
to explain that we are concerned about what the use of the proposed
substance upon your plumbing system could be, and indeed may
have already been, detrimental to the efficient functioning of this
system. Sincerely, Acme Plumbing."
The homeowner replied, "Dear Acme Plumbing: Like I say,
thank you for your reply. I've poured a bottle of this stuff down the
drain and it works great! Sincerely......"
Finally the company wrote in capital letters, "DON'T USE
HYDROCHLORIC ACID. BURNS THE HELL OUT OF THE
PIPES!
(Clarity. At last we got some clarity - about pipes and about the
nature of Jesus.)
Of course, it is not enough for us to academically know the true
nature of Jesus. We need to get to know him. There is nothing like living
with someone to really get to know them. I wish that young couples had
what they had in Bible times - a society-blessed time in which they could
live together before the final step of marriage. It was called betrothal in
which each of them and their families saw the other as their "intended."
It was more than engagement and less than marriage. It was such a serious
step that if you decided not to go ahead with it you had to get a to break the
betrothal - you had to divorce the other person. - even as Joseph
considered divorcing Mary quietly and privately when he learned she was
expecting a child, not his. Only an angel could have convinced him
otherwise - and so one did!
(There are lots of interesting matings in the Bible as a matter of
fact. In Genesis it is reported that the Sons of Gods dwelt with the
daughters of men - and that from these unions the nephilim - the men of
great renown were born. That's in the 6th chapter of Genesis: "And it
came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of
all which they chose......There were giants in the earth in those
days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the
daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became
mighty men which were of old, men of renown." (Genesis 6: 1-2, 4)
The Bible is a fascinating book, and the New Testament that
contains the life and teachings of Jesus is invaluable in making it possible
for you to live with Jesus.
Like the followers of Jesus, you can get "all fired up" on this day
of Pentecost - vowing to worship better and more often - learning to lean
upon the Holy Spirit to tell you what to say in witnessing about your faith
to others - making praying the first thing you do in the morning and the last
thing you do at night - and "praying without ceasing in between." - looking
to see what those around you need help with - and helping without being
asked - be creative and intuitive in your caring and your sharing - in short,
to see your main task in life as doing everything possible live in
Jesus and to let Jesus live within you - the WORD, the logos, the
Expression of God, THE SON OF GOD.
I open my mouth to speak
And the word is there
Formed by the lips, the tongue
The organ of voice. Formed by
The brain, transmitting the word by breath.
I open my mouth to speak
And the word is there
Traveling between us - caught
By the organ of hearing, the ear,
Transmitting the thought to the brain
Through the word.
Just so do we communicate -
You and I: the thought
From one mind leaping to another,
Given shape and form and substance,
So that we know and are known through the word.
But let me speak to my very small son
And the words mean nothing,
For he does not know my language.
And so I must show him.
"This is your foot"
I say, "And it is meant for walking."
I help him up: "Here is the way to walk!"
And one day "walking" shapes in his brain with the word.
God had something to say to Man,
But the words meant nothing,
For we did not know his language
And so we were shown: "Behold the Man,"
He said, "this is the image, the thought
In my mind - Man as I mean him, loving and serving.
I have put Him in flesh. Now the Word
Has shape and form and substance
To travel between us. Let Him show forth love
Till one day "loving" shapes in your brain with THE WORD.
(The Word, For Heaven's Sake)
The WORD of God, the CHRIST OF GOD - the ANOINTED
ONE is with us always - living, working, calling, healing, protecting -
HE'S NOT A PAST-TENSE PERSON BUT A PRESENT PRESENCE!
A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be
an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life came from his
outspoken Christian friend.
The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend's
witnessing words, even though he heard them often. One night he went to
the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as
the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of
light to practice by.
The young man climbed up to the highest diving board, turn his
back to the pool at the end of the diving board and prepared to dive. He
extended his arms out, and in the shadowy light conditions, saw the cross
that his extended arms formed as he saw his shadow on the wall. It
brought back to him his friend's words about Jesus. He felt as if Jesus
were speaking to him, and he was so overcome that he knelt down, right
there on the diving board and asked the living Jesus to come into his life.
As he stood to go back to the dive, a maintenance man came in
and turned on the lights - revealing that the pool had been drained. Had
he dived, had he not seen the cross - had he not responded to that feeling
within Himself that Jesus was speaking to him, his life would have been
different - it would have ended that very night. Instead, his new life as a
follower of THE WORD had begun. Now he had a story to tell and it
began with the words: GUESS WHO I SAW?


Sermon Notes
(Not edited nor proofed)
The Rev. Dr. Garth R. Thompson Pastor, M.B. Community Church
A sermon is a simple truth told by someone who
believes it to people he knows and loves (Phillips Brooks)
May 27, 2007 10:30 a, m. John 14:8-27
PENTECOST SUNDAY
"GUESS WHO I SAW!"
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.