Hearing God

Sermon Advent 4A
Preached at St. Johns Lancaster

Isaiah 7:10-16
Ps 80
Romans 1:1-7
Mt 1:18-25

Years ago in France, there was a young girl who said that God communicated with her in miraculous ways. She inspired a nation, was hailed as a saint by those who could use her politically, and burned as a heretic by those whose power she threatened. Many today maintain that Joan of Ark was indeed a saint, but had we been alive then, what might we have said? Several hundred years before the visions in France, a young girl in Roman Palestina said that an angel appeared to her. Her Aunt also said she had dreams, and her uncle lost his voice for a season after an alleged encounter with a heavenly being. Her betrothed also claimed an angelic visit, recorded in today‘s gospel lesson. Several hundred years before that series of claims, the prophet Isaiah broke forth in a semi-estatic utterance which neither he nor anyone else fully understood, and again, based on the political and economic agendas of his hearers, they named him either saint, heretic, or crazy man. It all raises a very significant question for you and for me as we approach this Christmas season. How does God speak to us? While most of us hear today would count all of the individuals I have mentioned as saints, what would you say if your sister, or your neighbor’s son, or the elderly person down the block made the claims made by the players in today’s Scripture lessons? This morning, I hope that we can examine for a few minutes how God has communicated with his people in the past, and how we might exp[ect to hear his voice today.
First and foremost, God speaks to us in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God written. Jesus believed that, and so did Paul. In fact, most of the patriarchs and prophets and apostles spoke freely about the law of God and quoted freely those scriptures which had been revealed by the time they wrote. Anglicanism has always taken a direct and minimalist view to this primary form of illumination. If the scriptures say clearly that we ought to do something, then we ought to do it. If they say we sould not do something, then we ought not to do it. Whenever anyone tries to build elaborate arguments to prove that the scriptures are for or against something that they are not specifically for or against, we probably ought to thoughtfully ignore the person and the argument. In the same way, when someone works very hard to discredit the scriptures, or to re-interpret them in some new way, especially if that way endorses current social or ethical practices in the world at large, we probably out to respectfully ignore that person and that argument as well. God gives us three types of law in the Old Testament. The Ceremonial law of worship and sacrifice is a prophetic foreshadowing of the coming of the Christ, and as the book of Hebrews shows us, it is completed in him. It is no longer binding on Christians. That is why we do not sacrifice animals and have seders here at St. John’s. The legal code of ancient Israel was meant to demonstrate for us how the tenents of the law might be applied in every area of our life, and to show us what ethical and behavioral holiness is all about. In short, they were meant in a particular setting to demonstrate to us something of the character of God and of his Messiah. But their purpose is fulfilled in Christ’s coming, and that is why we don’t stone unruly children or witches. The moral law however, is binding on all people in all places and for all time. It is unchanging, and it helps us to order our ways and to understand the true nature of Christian holiness, which is the outgrowth of love for God and man. And so we look for God’s guidance in the Bible.
Sometimes, God speaks to a person directly, like he did to the people in today’s lessons. Perhaps in a dream, or with a vision or by means of a voice. It is not the norm, but it does happen. It is more likely that a follow of God might sense some urging of a conscience fine tuned by God’s Holy Spirit and by regular reading of the Bible; or perhaps a gentle nudge or leading, and inexplicable feeling whereby “his Spirit bears witness with our own that we are indeed the children of God.” But how do I know that such a communication is not in the words of Ebenezer Scrooge, “a bit of undigested potato”, or worse, a sign of mental illness or excessive fatigue, or some other misleading cause? The first test is that God is one and eternal. He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” God will never tell you anything that contradicts what he has already told you in the Bible. If your “leading” does not stand the test of Scripture, it is not of God. A second check on the validity of some unexpected or ecstatic experience would be its distinguishing characteristics. Is it compatible with love? Revenge, or schemes for power or dominance are not of God, because they are not of love, and “God is love.” This check might be expanded to say, “is this leading compatible with God’s revealed character.” God might use some very bad things to draw us closer to himself, for he works in and through all things to dispense his mercy and love to his people, but he is never the author of evil. You can take it to the bank that God inspires no-one to an act of terrorism, and it is equally true that he inspires no one to a spirit of revenge against that terrorism, be it individual or national. Both terror and revenge are the products of hate, and God, as we have established, is love.
At this point, it would be good to say a word about the odd, strange, and curious. God is not limited by our understandings of what might be proper or expected. It is true that he often works through the human intellect which is a true manifestation of the image of God. Scientific and mathematical reality, rightly understood, can open to us the way of God in many ways. But, we should be very careful about dismissing a message because we think the messenger or the delivery method is not to our taste or our likeing, or to our understanding. God speaks how he will and through whom he will. A the dreams of a young girl in France or Palestina might just as well please him as a dissertation by a PhD in Biblical literature or a favorite preacher. To speak in Battalion terms, he is the Colonel, and he makes the calls. Let us wait for God in humility, knowing that his choice of messenger or delivery might be very normal and expected, or very bizarre and unexpected.
Finally, we should say a word about divine providence. God often confirms what he means us to hear by means of opened or closed doors of opportunity. This is not to say we should assume that a bit of opposition means that we have misread God’s will for us. The Bible says we will meet with opposition, sometimes even from our own families. But it is to say that where God calls, he enables, and he makes a way. Through diligent prayer, study of the Scriptures, fellowship with God’s people, receiving Holy Communion, and regular participation in all of the many means of Grace, God will give us hearts to discern and know his will, with strength and opportunity to accomplish the same. It is an inexact science, but it is based on the promise of God, and on the firm assurance that he will give us all of the wisdom and resources we need to accomplish the mission he has for each of us.
And so in conclusion, as we consider the examples of Isaiah, Joseph, Mary, and so many other of the saints of God through the ages, let us open our hearts in this holy time to hear God’s message to us as a people and as individuals. He loves you, and is not in the habit of hiding things from you that you need to know or understand. Trust him day by day, and live your lives in the knowledge that God wishes his best for you as he employs you to manifest his grace and his love to a world in need. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.