LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. 6You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalms 8:1 - 9 (NRSV)
King David opens and closes this Psalm addressing the Lord, Sovereign God, whose majesty is a signature that is stamped across everything in creation.
Sometimes my mind staggers and comes unglued at just the thought of how huge is God¡¦s creation, and just how miniscule we are. Travelling at the speed of light it would take 100,000 years just to cross the width of the Milky Way. Scientists tell us there are billions of Milky Ways; the work of God¡¦s fingers!
What is even more staggering is that God knows each of us by name, and loves us in spite of our worst attributes. A church was in the midst of a two-week revival. The town clown decided to liven things up a bit, so he got a devil costume from the local party store and waited until the night service was heating up. About the time the choir sang their third anthem, and all the brothers and sisters were on their feet waving arms and in the spirit, the ¡§devil¡¨ burst through the doors and growled, I’m hungry as a lion in a Roman Coliseum!
Well, people scattered like gazelle being chased by lion; some went through the front and side doors, others leaped through the open windows. The preacher fainted dead away behind the pulpit, and the lead singer in the choir found a new way to access the steeple up through the baptistry. All you could see, everywhere you looked, was nothing but heels and elbows¡Kexcept for dear Mrs. Bertha Peabody, sitting stone cold still in the second pew from the front, a place she had occupied every time the church doors were open!
The town-clown devil moved menacingly toward Mrs. Bertha. As he got within a step or two, Bertha stood up ram-rod straight, pointed her index finger at the devilish face with horns and said, NOW you hold on, Mr. Devil. I want you to know my name is Bertha Peabody, and I’m a charter member of this here church; I’m president of the women’s auxiliary missionary society; I been a usher, a deaconess, lay preacher ans a Annual Conference-certified Sunday School teacher for over 45 years. I tithe, sing solos, sweep up the sidewalks and go out on visitation three times a week, and been bakin’ pies for the church auction for longer’n anyone around these parts; but there’s one thing you jus’ got to know before you take another step towards me; I been on yo’ side all the time!
It seems there are times (perhaps not as ridiculous as Bertha’s example, but times, nevertheless), when life plays havoc with the faith we’re supposed to exhibit in worshiping and serving this Sovereign with the majestic name, in whom we profess faith and to Whom we claim allegiance. The question becomes: WHAT KIND OF LIFE DOES HONOR THE MAJESTIC GOD WE WOULD SERVE?
For a child of God, and particularly for Wesleyan children of the faith, the answer is never very far from our hymnal. The Baptismal Covenant[1] contains questions that are asked and answered as we make our profession of faith; these are vows by which we enter the church family. These questions (and our answers) frame for us the kind of life which honors the Sovereign with the majestic name.
When a person becomes a member of The United Methodist Church we are asked to respond to seven basic, fundamental questions of the Christian faith. These are not questions for which you need a PhD to respond intelligently. They are simple, straightforward questions of faith; they ask if you have intention to fulfill vows of service to God and to fellow human beings. They are questions of relationship to the God of the majestic name, and questions of relationship to our neighbor. As Jesus said, these are the two important issues of being right with God¡Kloving Him with all your heart, soul mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. [2]
These seven questions serve this morning as our focal point of review for that life which honors the majestic name of our Sovereign God; a life that gives glory to God! These are the questions by which we come into the body of Christ; they are the same questions we must frequently re-ask of ourselves to see if we are living by those vows, or if we have slipped off the pathway. Or ¡V as we would say in the Methodist tradition, backslidden from our walk with Christ.
One quick aside: we remember that this review is for judging ourselves, not our neighbor. Jesus also said that it’s very hard to see the tiny splinter in your neighbor’s eye when you’ve got half a live oak tree stuck in your own eye! [3]
So, let’s review those wonderful questions that we hear, affirm and reaffirm each time we’re privileged to participate as someone takes their vows of membership in the body of Christ and His church.
Question #1 - Do you truly and earnestly repent of your sins?
Repentance is the starting point for new birth, as a person truly within his heart and mind realizes his sin, and how that sin separates him from God. Repentance is a turning away from that life, and turning towards obedience to God. In that precious transaction God is faithful to his promise, and He cleans the slate; we are forgiven, and his Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in our lives, directing, correcting and pointing us ever to Jesus. Good question!
Question #2, 3, 4 - Do you believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit?
These three are the focus of Trinity Sunday (today); and are also foundational to Christian faith. God is one,[4] but He is also three, Father, Son and Spirit. As we said previously, these are questions of faith. There are many theories offered as to how God can be three-in-one; one God, yet three distinct persons. Some of these are quite bad (water is sometimes liquid, sometimes ice, and sometimes steam). Some of the theories are a little dangerous (modalism: when he’s the Father, he’s not the Son or Spirit; he "morphs" from one to the next. Friends, God is not Odo the Shape-shifter from Star Trek).
What we do know is that, although this is a difficult doctrine with which to wrestle, it is not so far-fetched. Most thinking people understand that we are not one-dimensional; we are body, soul and spirit. That triuneness is at least a hint of the Trinitarian nature of God. We are created in His image, and so some of that triune nature is reflected in His creation. We are complex, just check out your DNA code book!
Question #5 Do you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments?
This is certainly the question upon which many people get hung-up; we drown in speculations and fears because we think the Scripture is complicated and entirely mystical. Unfortunately many skeptics reject the Bible out of hand as full of errors; and yet they’ve never even read the Bible. I know that, because I did that. As a young man I’d spent a lot of time in church, and could even quote passages, but I’d never studied the Scripture for myself, putting my own preconceived notions (and other people’s nonsensical criticisms) aside. But as soon as I humbled myself enough to begin to ask God to teach me through His word, so I would know the truth, faith began to come alive within, and I began a lifelong road of having my understanding opened to the things of God.
This question is tied to the next
Question #6 Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to keep God’s holy will and commandments and walk in the same all the days of your life as faithful members of Christ’s holy church?
The question do you receive and profess (the Scriptures) means more than just to hang it on your keychain like a lucky charm; rather it means to take it to one’s heart with the intention of loving the object of the Christian faith God and living by that faith; it means being faith-ful. It is a monumental question that is not to be answered without some deep soul-searching! It means, if God said it (Scripture) you’re going to do everything in your power to live it; God’s word will be more important than your culture, comfort or timeshare at the beach. God’s word is your lifeline in eternity!
Question #7 ¡V Will you be loyal to The United Methodist Church, and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?
Loyalty is more than just the way you feel about something. In fact, it has little to do with how you feel, and everything to do with how you act. Consider the four words that describe the areas of loyal action:
Prayers
Your prayers are more than asking God to help Grandma get over her rheumatism. Your prayers are a holy cabinet meeting with the King of heaven. It is impossible to pray for someone and then treat that person as if they’re insignificant. When you promise your prayers for the church, you take everything about that church to your heart and hold it up before the Father!
And, your prayer means you take everything this church is attempting to do in this community to your heart as well. It means you will support worship services, discipleship efforts, mission events and more. It is your vow of loyalty to pray deeply for your church family and its mission here and in the world.
Presence
The vow of loyalty includes not just praying ¡§from afar. My little foolish story about Bertha Peabody’s encounter with the devil had a bit of a poke about her occupying that seat in the third pew for many years each and every time the church doors were open. Well, that was for fun, but I’m glad we have every-timers; I’m thankful for the faithful vow keepers who arrange their lives around what their church is doing, rather than fit-in church whenever it’s convenient. Loyalty means you’re there in marriage, parenting, employment; should we exempt being there for Christ?
Gifts
The tithe is 10% of your income as a gift to God, to be laid on the altar regularly. This is also part of our vow to God and your fellow Christian believers in this family. I’m not going to say a lot about this, because God has said all that needs to be said:
8Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, How are we robbing you? In your tithes and offerings! 9You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you! 10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. Malachi 3:8 - 10 (NRSV)
How about that? God clearly laid out our choice to either be a thief by withholding our tithe, or simply obeying and watching him bless our socks off! Perhaps that’s why whenever I get paid, the first check I write is for 10% to my church, the storehouse where I worship - I don’t want to miss out on His blessing!
Service
To serve means to take part as you’re gifted. This has several layers to it, and it carries the concept of discipleship. To be a disciple, or learner one who is being trained means you will submit yourself to being prepared for whatever mission God has called you to fulfill in this life. It means we discover what spiritual gifts we have, and then go to work sharpening that gift and putting that gift at God’s disposal.
What’s your gift? Where are you supposed to serve? Are you serving there? These are the questions of loyalty in service that go along with your tithe, presence and prayers. It’s what gives glory to God! Are you satisfied with your answers? If not, you can change, and give God the glory!
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ENDNOTES
1] THE UNITED METHODIST HYMNAL, (Nashville, The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989), 46-48
2] Mark 12:30-31
3] Luke 6:41-42
4] Mark 12:29
