St Ninians, Riccarton
Epiphany 3
26 January 2025
Prayer of Illumination (Psalm 19:14)
Me inoi tatou, Let us pray;
Let the words of our mouths
and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to you, O Lord
our rock and our redeemer
Amine/Amen
Introduction to Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10 and Luke 4:14-21
Both these readings describe someone reading the bible.
As you listen imagine that moment. What sort of voice did Ezra have? Or Jesus?
We are told Ezra was standing but we understand by Jesus’ time bible readers sat. What difference might that have made?
Ezra is outside, Jesus is inside. Again, imagine the differences.
Bible Reading 1 Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10
All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Bible Reading 2 Luke 4: 14-21
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
SERMON
Jesus/God Revealed in Scripture
It’s kind of strange listening to readings that talk about reading the bible. It’s like having two stories on top of each other as we too participate in listening. In fact both these scripture passages have many similarities to what we are doing today – but there are also some differences.
In the Nehemiah reading the people of Israel have been rebuilding Jerusalem after returning from exile. Nehemiah, the governor, seems to have decided to have a holiday – a holy day. And so he asks the priest Ezra to bring out the book of the law of Moses; which was probably the first five books of what we know as the Old or Hebrew Testament. That is; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. And Ezra reads this to the people; both men and women and possibly older children as we are told all those capable of understanding it were encouraged to be there.
Remarkably it has all the hallmarks of a rock concert. There is Ezra on a high platform so everyone can see him and there are the people below. As he opens the book the people stand and as he prays before he starts there is a frenzy of arm waving and cheers. And then they drop to their knees with their faces on the ground to worship God. It sounds like some of the reactions to bands at a rock concert. It is certainly not a common response to bible readings in most churches today.
As well as reading through Genesis, Exodus, etc, we are told that Ezra and some of his colleagues explained what had been said so that the people understood it. Sounds awfully like what I am doing now. Isn’t it fascinating that thousands of years later we are still using the same technique to explore the wisdom of God.
I hope you also noticed that they stood throughout this! Apparently up until the last hundred years or so it was normal for Christians to stand through out the whole service – and they often had two hour-long sermons!
Don’t panic, I’m not advocating a return to this, but I think it is worth us pondering why. Firstly, the obvious reason was they were outside and it was stand or sit in the dust. But the second reason, and why Anglicans stand for the reading of the gospel, is as a sign of respect for the word of God.
We Protestants are known as People of the Book. Presbyterians more than many others have believed that God is most fully revealed in Scripture; both read and taught. That is why they have demanded that their ministers be highly trained academically so they can teach well. It has also been why education in general has been so important because they thought everyone should be able to read well enough to read the bible for themselves.
In many Presbyterian churches they continue the tradition of processing the bible into the church at the beginning of the service while the people stand and then they process it out in the same way at the end. The symbolism escaped me for years. Why should we be standing up for an elder carrying a huge old bible up the aisle followed by the minister I wondered?
But now I realise we were not standing for the people but for what that big old book stood for. That whole ceremony is a reminder that God is in this place of worship, that we have come to learn more of the divine nature through our study of the Word, and that we truly are people bound together by the knowledge shared through the bible.
The Nehemiah reading goes on to describe the reaction of the people to the reading of God’s Word. They cry, and they declare a celebration. Again, not a common reaction in our churches today. Although some of us may admit to a few tears when a particular bible verse hits a nerve, New Zealanders are not know for loud cheers.
Although, occasionally, scripture can be greeted with acclaim.
I attended the Christmas Eve service at St Andrews College last year. One of the bible readings was read by two very young students. They did it so beautifully that the congregation broke out in spontaneous applause after they finished. It is the only time I have ever experienced this exuberant reaction, but perhaps Nehemiah’s story is less remarkable than we may think.
Similarly, when we come to the explanation of scripture in Nehemiah their reaction seems a bit strange to us. We usually listen quietly to the preacher and analyse its usefulness in our heads. But if you’ve ever been involved in an Afro-American or African service or even some Pacific Island gatherings you will know this is not always the case. There, a sermon is often interrupted by cries of “Preach it sister” “Amen”, etc or bursts of singing from the choir or congregation. There is an air of celebration that our more subdued reaction cannot even imagine.
Now, I’m not actually advocating for such reactions, although laughing at my jokes is always welcome, but I do want to point out that like in the days of Nehemiah these people recognise that the word of God demands a response. Theirs was, and is, immediate and vocal. Ours may be more thoughtful and more action orientated.
But we need to be clear about is that just listening to bible readings and sermons, not matter how wonderful, is not enough. It is what happens in our hearts and minds, in the lives we lead after the church service; that is the prime purpose.
Now, let us look at the second reading from Luke. This is one of the most of important passages of Luke as Jesus states what his ministry will be about.
It follows his baptism by John in the Jordan and those forty days he spent in the desert. He has resisted the temptations of the Devil and now he goes back to his home town to announce who he is.
Imagine the scene – This local guy comes back as guest preacher. You’ve been hearing all sorts of stories about him and now he is coming back to his roots. They say he’s going to be something special which is pretty amazing as you can remember him as just an ordinary kid. He was no one special then, just the son of the local carpenter. But you crowd in with everyone else in the district to hear what the kid, now grown up, has got.
And so Jesus gives the reading from Isaiah chapter 61: 1,2 and then moves into his sermon by saying “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He is claiming that this passage, which everyone knows is about the Messiah, has come true, right here, right now. Jesus uses the word of God to reveal who he really is – the Messiah!
Next week we will continue the reading and look at that congregation’s reaction but consider your reaction if you heard someone say that from this pulpit, especially if you’d known them all their lives.
Yeah, you’d be having a few doubts. And I need to tell you – that’s okay. Yes, the bible is the revelation of God, whether in the form of Jesus or the Creator, Comforting Spirit or merciful Lord. But, especially as Presbyterians, we are encouraged to question what we hear or read ourselves. Not for us is the policy of blind acceptance of meaning from our leaders that we blamed on the Roman Catholic faith during the Reformation.
No, we are to take those moments of epiphany that can happen with scripture as an invitation to be awed, to be inspired, and to glimpse some of the power and mystery of God.
The people of Nehemiah’s time found this when they were read only part of the bible, probably for the first time. Jesus knew this as he used a prophecy of Isaiah’s to proclaim the basis of his ministry.
Our ancestors in the faith also recognised the power of understanding the bible. They based their whole worship around the importance of scripture in coming to know God. They came together expecting to hear, to see, to know God through the songs, prayers, bible readings and sermons.
You may have noticed I pray before the bible readings. The Prayer of Illumination asks God to help us to recognise what particular message we need to hear this day from the Word. Since we are hearing scripture throughout the service perhaps this prayer is better placed right at the beginning but its main point is to alert us to the fact that we are not just going to hear the thoughts of the reader or the translator of the bible or the preacher. We are going to hear words straight from God which will demand our attention and our response.
In this time of Epiphany, when the nature of Jesus is revealed to us let’s take a leaf out of Nehemiah’s book and search for Jesus in the bible. Let us wait expectantly for Jesus to be revealed to each one of us through it. Let us take the prescription from Isaiah that Jesus used for his ministry and find what role speaks to us too. And then let us respond to this fresh revelation in the way we live our lives. Then we truly will be People of the Book.